Changing the World One Opportunity at a Time: The Industry Horror Vision
We help autistic and neurodivergent adults build job skills through paid work - not just prepare for it. Our apparel business and year-long paid internships through The Arc of Ventura County offer practice in printing, packing, and retail. Ask our team about current opportunities and the support available.
Our next goal is Avenue Trade School: hands-on training without tuition. <u>It is not open for enrollment</u>, and we have not secured the proposed campus.
Here’s what guides our work:
Choice and support: Training should reflect each person’s interests, pace, and needs.
More career paths: The proposed school would add training options, with community input, funding, and partners still needed.
Progress beyond placements: We want to track skills, pay, job retention, growth, and workers’ own views of their working lives.
Paid Internship Program by Michael Clay and Elizabeth Zastrow
sbb-itb-91f1a3f
How Our Current Work Builds Job Skills
Our daily work doubles as job training. Each task helps workers build confidence, establish routines, and learn skills they can use in other jobs.
Skills From Printing and Packing Orders
Printing teaches workers to follow steps in order, check quality, and work safely. Before printing, they check artwork alignment. Afterward, they inspect garments for smudges so problems get caught before an order ships. Following safety steps at the heat station and conveyor dryer builds habits workers can carry into other production roles.
Packing orders builds organization and accuracy. Workers fold garments, match items to orders, and print shipping labels. Visual or written checklists can help them follow each step with more confidence.
Skills From Retail and Community Events
Our Ventura storefront gives workers a place to practice customer service, inventory handling, and point-of-sale skills with the public. Through live customer interactions, they learn to greet shoppers, follow workplace etiquette, switch between tasks, and answer real questions.
Community events give workers practice with teamwork, preparation, and public engagement. Clear roles and step-by-step instructions take out some of the guesswork and show workers where to turn for help.
Support for Long-Term Employment
Our current work includes paid on-the-job training, coaching, and mentorship. Structured routines and clear feedback help workers understand what's expected of them.
Job carving adjusts tasks to fit a worker's strengths while meeting business needs. Along with these supports, it can help workers pursue long-term career choices and growth as they prepare for broader training and career paths.
Our Vision for a Trade School
The skills autistic and neurodivergent adults build through our current work point toward a bigger goal: a place to try more career paths with support.
Avenue Trade School is a long-term vision, offering hands-on career training shaped around each learner. Launching it would require securing a site, developing the project, gathering community input, and obtaining funding. The former Avenue Elementary School campus in Ventura is the proposed site. Its reported $6 million sale on November 1, 2026, does not mean the project has secured the property.
Proposed Training Areas and Job Paths
These proposed pathways would connect hands-on instruction with possible careers. None is a confirmed course or job placement. Each would depend on project development and learner needs, leaving room to discover interests rather than follow one fixed track or outcome.
Proposed training area | Possible accommodations | Possible outcomes |
Apparel printing | Visual task cards, hearing protection | Print technician, production assistant |
Garment preparation and finishing | Checklists, ergonomic workstations | Quality assurance lead, garment processor |
Inventory and fulfillment | Digital scanners, color-coded shelving | Warehouse associate, fulfillment specialist |
Retail operations | Scripted greetings, predictable schedules | Sales associate, store manager |
Event support | Sensory-friendly zones, clear escalation paths | Event coordinator, brand ambassador |
Merchandise design | Flexible deadlines, remote work options | Graphic designer, product developer |
From Career Discovery to Paid Work and Growth
The goal is to help each person move from trying skills to building a working life. The planned pathway would begin with individual interests and support needs, then move into workplace routines and safety, supervised practice, and supported paid employment.
Communication, time management, and transportation preparation would be part of that process. That includes practicing the full commute and planning for bus delays. As their goals develop, learners could pursue advanced skills or leadership responsibilities. They could also revisit any stage when their goals or workplaces change. There would be no single timetable for everyone.
Support That Builds Choice and Control
Learners could help set their pace and transition plans. Before training begins, they could identify concerns about lighting, alarms, or crowded spaces. Support would help them exercise more choice and control, with help available when needed.
Project planning would also need to address partnerships, resources, and clear ways to measure progress.
Partners, Resources, and Ways to Measure Progress
Roles for Workers and Community Partners
Putting this vision into practice takes people, funding, and shared responsibility. Autistic and neurodivergent adults should lead decisions about their own goals, with support from others. Their community input should also help shape the expansion.
Each partner should help open opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent adults. The roles below describe possible contributions - not confirmed commitments or services.
Stakeholder | Contribution | When involved |
Autistic and neurodivergent adults | Set personal goals and help evaluate proposed training and supports | All stages (Discovery to Growth) |
Families and caregivers | Share useful insights only with the adult’s consent | Transition and planning |
Educators | Connect school transition plans with work interests and training needs | Career discovery |
Vocational-rehabilitation professionals | Help with planning, eligibility, and access to eligible services | Training and paid-work transitions |
Businesses | Define job duties, provide accessible instruction, and identify growth opportunities | Paid work and growth |
Community and design professionals | Contribute technical knowledge to facility and program planning | Site and facility planning |
Industry Horror’s confirmed partnership with The Arc of Ventura County helps fund first-year training wages for eligible interns.
Resources Needed for Expansion
Expansion may require trade equipment, qualified instructors, job coaches, accessible transportation, and program development. Grants, partnerships, and community support could fund these needs, helping more people access training, work, and independence.
Supporters, businesses, donors, and event participants can find verified support options at industryhorror.com. Before giving money, equipment, or time, confirm what the program currently needs and how it would use your contribution.
Measuring More Than Placements
Success should reflect growth - not just job placements. The proposed measures are goals for evaluation, not achieved results. We would track access to training, demonstrated skill milestones, paid-work opportunities, retention, fair compensation, and advancement. Workers’ own views of their choices, support quality, confidence, and quality of life should carry central weight. Employer feedback can also help assess workplace fit.
Conclusion: More Career Choices for Future Generations
The skills people build here are a starting point for more career options. Our apparel work teaches job skills today. Our vision for a trade school would give autistic and neurodivergent adults more career choices for generations to come.
Visit our store at 518 E Main Street in Ventura, California, or visit Industry Horror to learn about current opportunities. Contact our team to ask about training or jobs that support choice and independence.
FAQs
How do I qualify for a paid internship?
Industry Horror has partnered with organizations such as The Arc of Ventura County to provide paid job training for eligible individuals in a supportive business setting.
For eligibility details and current internship or employment opportunities, contact the team through the Industry Horror website or attend community events and meetings. You can also use these channels to learn about the upcoming trade school.
Can I request support before starting work?
Yes, you can ask for support before starting work. Industry Horror puts your well-being and success ahead of standard workplace expectations, with a focus on helping you feel welcome and supported.
Whether you have sensory needs, need information presented differently, or want guidance before a task, you’re encouraged to share what you need openly. Founders and managers can then help you feel comfortable, accepted, and supported.
How can I help shape Avenue Trade School?
Share your ideas through the online community survey and virtual community meetings. Your feedback helps determine which trades, programs, and amenities will best serve neurodivergent adults and the local community.
You can also support the mission by donating, shopping at the Industry Horror store, or telling others about the project to help secure the future campus.
Comments