ASSET
Acquiring Self-Confidence and Social Skills in Support of Employment
reachAbility's ASSET program started in August 2005 to help persons with disabilities reach their full potential as they prepare to enter the workforce. It is a five-day, confidence and communication skills-building course. ASSET is designed to increase the participant's self-confidence so that they can be more successful in finding and keeping a new job. In a supportive, accommodating, learner-centred environment, this program helps identify strengths, determine improvement opportunities, develop realistic goals and action plans geared towards employability, enhances interpersonal communication skills, and helps understand the importance (and practice) of work-appropriate communication skills.
The topics included in ASSET are:
- Confidence Building -
- Building self-esteem, where self-confidence comes from, how self-doubt affects your self-confidence, negative and positive confidence vocabulary, how to gain self-confidence, how to handle confidence setbacks, 20 ways to increase your confidence, and tips to improve self-esteem for persons with disabilities.
- Understanding & Defining Strengths -
- Defining your skills, knowledge, attitudes, work habits, personality traits, interests and values, as well as, employment skills, personality traits, interests, and a values checklist (with help in narrowing down your top strengths in each area).
- Acknowledging & Improving Weaknesses -
- Creating a personal improvement (action) plan
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- Goal Setting & Action Plans -
- Reasons for setting career goals, what to consider when setting them, disability considerations, how to set career goals, evaluating career choices, setting your career goals, creating a career goal statement, making an employment action plan, and learning how to research information in the labour market.
- Challenging Myths About Disability -
- Understanding your disability; know your strengths, understand your weaknesses, set goals, and communicate with employers how all of this will affect your work and any accommodations you might need.
- Body Language -
- Why good body language is so important, and understanding what facial expressions, eyes, hands, and posture convey.
- Motivation -
- What motivates you, what people want from their jobs, motivation and your career, and using a "see, think, and feel" process.
- Disclosure & Questions an Employer Cannot Ask -
- An explanation of the Human Rights Act and how it affects you.
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- Starting Your New Job -
- Starting your new job and 20 tips to make a great first impression.
- Teams & Teamwork -
- How to work in teams and how to express your ability to work alone and as part of a team.
- Thinking -
- Emotions and feelings, reading a situation, analyzing your thoughts, and challenging your thoughts and labels.
- Emotions at Work -
- Emotional awareness and feedback
- Conflict Resolution -
- What conflict resolution is, discussing needs, active listening, assertiveness, controlling your emotions in a conflict, and ideas to remember when resolving a conflict.
- Harassment (General & Sexual) -
- Policies, your rights, and what is, and is not, considered harassment.
In the final day of ASSET, a mock interview is given and final assessments are done (self-assessments and a course assessment), and a certificate of completion is handed out.
If you would like more information about reachAbility's ASSET program, please contact:
Céleste A. Lacombe (ASSET Coordinator)
(902) 429-5878 or toll free(866) 429-5878
asset@reachability.org
reachAbility would like to thank Service Canada through the Government of 
for funding the ASSET program.
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