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Employers say MCB internship pipeline, JAWS support and onboarding guidance make hiring people who are blind practical
Summary
Employer partners described a decade of work with MCB: internships that led to hires, tailored onboarding, vendor collaboration to achieve JAWS compatibility and recruiter praise for MCB’s virtual reverse job fair.
Employer partners at Wednesday’s Massachusetts Commission for the Blind webinar described concrete steps that made hiring and onboarding employees who are legally blind more practical, from internship pipelines to platform accessibility and recruiting innovations.
Christiane Whitman, an HR practitioner and assistant director at the regional employment collaboratives, said her organization’s relationship with MCB started with an intern about a decade ago and grew into a steady pipeline. “It has been safe to work with MCB,” Whitman said, describing how MCB helped Riverside review onboarding materials, identify parts of multi‑day orientation that were job‑relevant, and prepare accessible formats when needed.
Whitman recounted working with MCB on a cloud collaboration tool (Basecamp). The first version used by her team lacked JAWS compatibility; after engaging with the vendor the platform released a JAWS‑compliant update, allowing Riverside to retain the tool rather than replace it.
From a recruiter’s perspective, Andre, a strategic recruiting consultant with Atrius Health, praised MCB’s virtual reverse job fair format. “It just allowed me to take in the candidate who they were,” he said, noting the event delivered concise candidate packets (resume, location, availability) that let recruiters focus on fit rather than logistical minutiae.
Panelists emphasized practical onboarding adjustments: identify which parts of a standard new‑employee orientation are essential for the person’s role, prepare accessible paperwork (Braille or other formats when appropriate), and plan disclosure timing so accommodations can be arranged ahead of a start date. Christiane said those steps have smoothed transitions from internship to work and allowed hires to be productive more quickly.
The employers said they would continue partnering with MCB on internships, mock interviews and in‑services; MCB staff offered to meet onsite or virtually to tailor supports for each employer’s needs.
The webinar closed with an invitation to employers to submit job postings to MCB and to request consultations for specific roles.
