UMass Medical School’s Work Without Limits program helped Wegmans supermarkets find and hire individuals with disabilities for its first Massachusetts store in Northborough, and the successful model has been replicated at other stores, according to a story in the Nov. 23 Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Work Without Limits, within UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, was so impressed it chose to honor Wegmans with the Collaboration Award at the second annual “Raise the Bar Hire!” Conference and Career Fair on Oct. 30. The Collaboration Award is presented to an organization that demonstrates outstanding collaborative efforts to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities.
When Wegmans opened the Northborough store in 2011, it worked with the Central Massachusetts Employment Collaborative to hire about 20 workers, according to the Telegram. The collaborative was established by Work Without Limits with grant funding. A statewide network of employers and partners, Work Without Limits aims to improve the employment rate of people with disabilities in Massachusetts and across the country.
The teamwork between Wegmans and the employment collaborative was such a success, Wegmans used a similar formula when hiring for its Chestnut Hill and Burlington stores.
“Our people show our boardroom their values, and they include respect, making a difference in the community and empowerment,” Wegmans store manager David Orlovsky told the Telegram. “The folks who work here see the value in a diverse population.”
Full-time produce stocker Umberto Dias, who has been working at the Northborough store since it opened and has been promoted twice, told the Telegram that he has a partial disability that leads to difficulties in mathematics.
“Wegmans helps everybody, especially people at the low skill end, to excel to a higher level,” the 41-year-old told the Telegram. “They even help people with disabilities excel and better their skills. There’s room for advancement for everyone.”
Work Without Limits also honored Marianne Gilmoreof the Carroll Center for the Blind and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Statewide Young Adult Council.
