Manufacturing Careers for the Uniquely Abled; A Scalable National Model with UAP’s Ivan Rosenberg

In this episode of Manufacturing in the American Century, we’re joined by Ivan Rosenberg. Ivan’s had a long career as an engineer and as a management consultant for aerospace and defense manufacturers. In this new chapter of his leadership and discussed in this episode, Ivan is the founder of the Uniquely Abled Project, an initiative that connects and trains people with autism and other “unique abilities” for skilled jobs in advanced manufacturing.Ivan’s entry into this work is personal. As a father of two children on the autism spectrum, he saw firsthand the barriers they would face trying to enter the workforce. At the same time, he was working with manufacturers struggling to fill open jobs. That tension between labor demands and overlooked talent led him to a simple question: why aren’t we connecting these dots more effectively?The Uniquely Abled Project is built on the idea that cognitive disabilities don’t mean unemployability. In fact, many people with autism have strengths, such as attention to detail, comfort with repetition, and process thinking, that are a great match for family-sustaining roles in advanced manufacturing like CNC machining. Ivan walks us through how the program works, the importance of changing both language and assumptions, and what it takes to build effective cross-sector partnerships around this work.We also talk about mindset; how employers, parents, and institutions often limit what’s possible by framing disability in terms of deficits rather than abilities. Ivan offers a practical, clear-eyed approach to making this shift, and in doing so unlocking the opportunity for so many more individuals to have meaningful roles in meaningful work. Way to go, Ivan!  UAP is looking to expand. If you are engaged in your region’s workforce ecosystem be sure to reach out to us or Ivan directly to see how to start an Uniquely Abled Academy in your area!Links to Learn More:Find Ivan on Linkedin.Learn more about the Uniquely Abled ProjectFind UAP on Linkedin, Instagram, and FacebookFollow AMCC on Linkedin.Find Matt on Linkedin.Visit our website.AMCC’s podcast is made possible in part by the expertise of Mike McAllen, founder of Podcasting4Associations. Are you part of an association also looking to produce a podcast? Let us get you in touch with Mike.Thank you to the Economic Development Administration for their partnership in producing this podcast. This podcast was prepared in part using Federal funds under award 3070145 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.