Vocational Education

Tochnit Avodah (Voc-Ed) offers vocational training, socialization and a group living experience to young adults with disabilities. Through close communication with participants’ parents and year-round support professionals, we develop a summer program individualized to each participant’s needs, focusing on goals in the areas of social skills, job skills, and independent living skills.

Internship

Program participants are placed in an internship where they work alongside other Ramah staff-members and campers, developing a broad range of skills that can be utilized and transferred to a variety of settings, with an emphasis on the food service and hospitality industries. Our program advisors, job coaches, and jobsite supervisors work closely with our Tikvah Director to create a successful work experience.

Independent Living and Socialization

The program provides numerous formal and informal learning opportunities, including a daily vocational skills class, activities of daily living, fitness and recreational opportunities, a peer-mentoring program, Jewish learning, and day-off trips out of camp. Through a focus on “soft-skills,” including strong work ethic, reliability, time management, appropriate social interactions, and the like, program participants develop skills that are critically important to success in any job in today’s workplace.

Click on the links below to learn more about some of our job sites at camp:

Please enjoy this video, spotlighting our Vocational Education Program!

Voc Ed Ma’avar

Voc Ed Ma’avar is a transition program for young adults that bridges our Amitzim and Tochnit Avodah (Voc Ed) programs. Ma’avar means passage or transition. This program provides young adults with learning, social, and developmental differences, an opportunity to participate in a vocational internship within the Tochnit Avodah (Voc-Ed) program, as well as recreational activities with Amitzim and other edot (divisions.) It is designed for young adults who typically have completed a vocational experience while participating in Amitzim and demonstrate an interest in and willingness to work. Our Ma’avar participants continue to benefit from a higher level of support related to independent living skills, vocational experiences, and/or negotiation of social interactions.

Click here to read an article written by Gabriella Levi, one of our Voc-Ed participants, about the importance of the program for her.

Click here to read an interview with Alex Cohen, a participant in a supported employment program at Camp Ramah in New England, on his positive experiences at Ramah.

Click here to read an article for the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent written by Abbey Frank, one of our 2016 Voc-Ed Advisors, discussing her powerful experiences working with our Tikvah Program.

For over twenty years, the Voc-Ed program has provided Jewish young adults with disabilities the opportunity to maximize their social, independent living and vocational skills within a warm and inclusive community. A select number of vocational program graduates become paid employees of camp and continue to receive support through the Tikvah Program.

To learn more about our vocational programs please contact:

Bonnie Schwartz, Psy.D.
Tikvah Program Director
(781) 400-0204
bonnies@campramahne.org