Vocational Assessment Assistant

Modified: August 22, 2018 8:23am

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Vocational Assessment Assistant

#63-269 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: SALARIES VARY
Opening Date: August 22, 2018
Closing Date: September 12, 2018
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. Preference may be given to successful candidates who have been residents of the municipality in which the appointment is to be made for one month preceding the date of the certification of the eligible list and who are residents of the municipality at the time of appointment. Non-residents may be required to become a resident of the appointing municipality if local law so states. * Candidates who reside in a school district which, for civil service purposes is administered by the Erie County Personnel Commissioner, but who are not legal residents of Erie County may apply for examination. However they will be certified for appointment only in the school district in which they are legal residents.

 There is one vacancy at Frontier Central School District with an annual salary of $39,000-$44,000. **Salaries vary among municipalities and districts. The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill this vacancy and other appropriate vacancies which may occur in municipalities or districts under the jurisdiction of Erie County Civil Service while this list is active.

Under current New York State Law, candidates seeking employment with school districts in New York State will be required to undergo fingerprinting and a criminal history background check prior to appointment. A processing fee may be required.

Examples of Duties:

A Vocational Assessment Assistant involves responsibility for administering and monitoring standardized tests and questionnnaires related to occupational and vocational evaluation for students;

Administers standardized test and questionnaires utilized for assessing students' vocational interests and abilities;

Introduces clients to the vocational evaluation process, explains purpose of testing and makes clients' comfortable with the assessment process;

Interviews students to determine interests and goals of each client to determine appopriate work sample testing;

Selects work sample areas for each client to allow evaluation by observation of those factors involving necessary innate abilities which would indicate probability of success or failure in an occupation;

Prepares student profiles and reports based on results of the testing process, utilizing established formats and indicates the test results to teachers, counselors,· students and parents (both verbally and in writing);

Participates in meetings with BOCES and School District and other staff to review interpretation and use of assessment results;

Develops and maintains expertise on testing processes and procedures for vocational/occupational assessment;

Consults regularly with Vocational Evaluator regarding program needs, direction, problems and successes.

 

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York state registered college or university with an Associate's degree and two (2) years of experience administering or overseeing vocational evaluation tests; or:

B) Completion of at least 24 semester credit hours in occupational or physical therapy coursework from an accredited occupational or physical therapy program; or:

C.) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B). 

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

October 13, 2018

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

September 12, 2018

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

 

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Advising and interacting with others

These questions test for the ability to interact with other people in order to gather and present information and to provide assistance and advice in a courteous and professional manner.

2. Interviewing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Principles and practices of employment counseling

These questions test for knowledge and understanding of the principles, practices, and techniques of employment counseling. Questions may include such topics as counseling individuals and/or groups on employment-related issues; providing support, advocacy, and accountability; and developing job opportunities throughout the community.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

 

 

 

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.