NTI helps Ethel Hartman help others while working-from-home

Oct. 2021
By Michael Hardman

After working since she was 14 years old, Ethel Hartman wasn’t used to not being employed. But a car accident left her out of job for six years before she signed up for NTI, a nonprofit organization that helps Americans with disabilities find at-home employment. 

“I was going stir crazy and driving my grandchildren insane,” said the 61-year-old Deer Park, N.Y., native, with a laugh. “It wasn’t a good thing. It was overwhelming for me not to do anything.” 

Her first job as a teenager was at Jack-in-the-Box, and the last job she had before her accident was as a manager at an HVAC company. Hartman worked her way up from being an office worker to managing the company. 

When she returned to work, the skills she learned at the HVAC and with her post-high school medical training, her experience allowed NTI to offer her a job in a call-center position with a national pharmaceutical company. 

As part of October’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month, NTI@Home is taking part in “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion” theme to ensure that Americans with disabilities are a major part of the national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Every October, NDEAM celebrates the contributions people with disabilities have made to America’s workforce and the economy. 

“The skills I learned in that job (as manager of HVAC company) are the skills I applied to this job,” said Hartman. “I started out answering phone calls as an extra person in the office, filing, and things like that and worked my way up until becoming a manager. All the clerical skills I have today came from that job.” 

With people like Hartman, NTI helps them transfer their skills and develop new ones to be successful in their new careers. 

“People bring all kinds of talents to NTI,” said Alan Hubbard, NTI Chief Operating Officer, “and we provide training to help them be successful at their new job. It’s always great when we can help someone like Ethel get back into the workforce and be successful.” 

After being out of work for a lengthy period of time, Hartman benefited from having a job that she could easily get back into while working at home. 

“The flexible schedule is a wonderful thing,” she said. “Some jobs offered flexibility, but nothing like this. If I call in today and tell them I don’t feel well (for any reason), I could work my four-hour shift in the afternoon. The schedule is truly flexible on a regular basis. When I first started out, I was working from 1 to 3 (p.m.) and from 5 to 7 (p.m.). I found out I was in more pain later in the day, so they allowed me to change my schedule. I work from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 3 to 5 p.m. The two hours off give me a chance to rest up and get the swelling down.” 

Hartman had to make the adjustment to working at home. 

“You need guidance,” she said. “If you are in an office and come across a problem, you get up and walk over to the supervisor, or to the next employee here and there, and say, ‘Listen, I am stuck here.’ When you are working at home, you are signed in with the company. With this company, you have communication, and they made that possible. We had Skype in the beginning and moved to Microsoft Team. We can call IT and the bosses if we need to.” 

Her job in the call center is to do patient surveys to record how they are doing taking the medications. When she started, Hartman was able to use the trade-school training for a medical assistant and in becoming a certified nursing assistant to help her on her next job. 

“I learned a long time ago that you need to have patience,” she said. “You can be dealing with an irate older person or a sweet 16-year-old, and you need to have patience and understanding in dealing with people." 

Hartman gives NTI credit for getting her back to work and helping her be successful in her job. 

“I would tell people to try NTI because it is a phenomenal company when it comes to working with the employee’s need,” she said. “They put you in the right place for success and are only a phone call away. My NTI supervisor, Richard, is always there if I need anything.” 

NTI helps Americans with disabilities and their family caregivers find at-home jobs with free training and job placement services. You can register for services at www.NTIcentral.org