Vocational Guidance Services

Vocational Guidance Services (VGS) changes lives and strengthens communities with services that enhance personal abilities, break down barriers to employment, and help individuals realize their potential. Our mission is: Preparing People with Barriers to Employment for a Brighter Future. VGS has been a national leader in helping individuals realize brighter futures since 1890. Annually, the agency provides a variety of services to nearly 4,000 individuals with physical or mental disabilities, economic challenges, and other barriers to employment, such as a history of incarceration. A comprehensive range of services including work evaluation, work adjustment, skills training, social enterprise work opportunities, and placement are available to community members receiving assistance from VGS. As a prudent financial steward, VGS leverages philanthropic dollars with its own revenue-generating endeavors built out of collaborative partnerships and public and private contract opportunities. These activities enable the agency, each day, to provide paid work experiences for 1,000 individuals engaged in “learning while earning” activities. VGS was one of the first organizations to receive accreditation by CARF International, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and recently received its seventeenth consecutive accreditation which extends to August 2018. VGS is also registered as a Proprietary School in the State of Ohio (State Board Proprietary School Registration Certification # 79-10-0671T). Comprehensive services are provided at VGS' east and west side facilities in Cleveland as well as in Elyria, Painesville and Columbus. VGS has expanded its operations to offer services in a total of 26 Ohio counties. VGS was chosen as one of The Plain Dealer's Top Workplaces in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.