The Choice Group

James and his Vocational Counselor, Nancy, began working together in June of 2016, when they began looking for his current position. James began working at Hampton Sheet Metal in January of 2017 where he was the first client hired that utilized Supported Employment services. He had a welding certificate but no welding work experience. Nancy and James worked with his DARS Counselor using OJT (On the Job Training) which is a program where DARS will pay for the client's first few months of pay while they are in training, as a way to advocate to employers to give him a chance. Employers will not hire people without welding experience so they used OJT as a way to advocate for James to get an employer to give him a chance. After many months of contacting several employers, Nancy was finally was able to get Hampton Sheet Metal to take a chance on James with the OJT program. He ended up doing very well and they kept him on. James has received several raises over the years and has rece...

Nancy McNamara is the Lead Counselor in the Hampton Roads area and has been working at The Choice Group for over four years now.  While she says that she has had many memorable experiences during her time here, one in particular stands out in the last year.   “It was it was a great pleasure to be able to assist a client with multiple felonies who was just released from prison to get back into the workforce doing cabinetmaking which he learned while in prison by working with DARS to promote On the Job Training (OJT) for the client with an employer. I was able to get the employer to give the client a chance,  and he is now successfully in Long-Term Employment Support Services (LTESS). He recently attended a job fair via DARS for people coming out of the prison system and shared his success story and how OJT and working with DARS and The Choice Group helped him re-enter society and the workforce successfully.” She loves seeing her clients grow and succeed...