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Teachers and Career Advisors
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School staff, particularly teachers, play an important role in the transition from school to post-school life for young people who are blind or vision impaired.
Consulting with your local blindness agency and Disability Employment Service (‘DES’) or Job Services Australia (‘JSA’) providers will further build your knowledge of considerations, supports available and the benefits of linking with these agencies prior to students embarking on employment.
Introduction to Vision Loss
Adolescence is a time when many young people who are blind or vision impaired face challenges associated with their vision impairment (for example, not gaining a driver’s licence). It is imperative that teachers are mindful that each and every young person with a vision impairment is unique in terms of his/her eye condition, functional (usable) vision, and the social/emotional impact that vision impairment has on his/her life.
Planning a Career Pathway for a Student
On an informal basis, teachers can assist young people with vision impairment in preparation for life beyond school in many ways. Some may include:
- Encouraging students to select subjects they are interested in, good at, and may assist with future employment
- Engaging students in conversation about life beyond school
- Providing honest and realistic feedback and promote high expectations
- Fostering social opportunities and friendships
- Encouraging student participation in extra-curricular activities, interests, and hobbies
- Encouraging students to self-advocate.
From this you can start to consider the following:
- Career selection – are the student’s career goals achievable?
- The student’s current skills – do they require any further training?
- Identify transition and career partners, and establishing links with support agencies
- Work experience – will this assist the student with their career planning?
Preparation for life beyond school for students with vision impairment begins well before the final years of school. Teachers can assist with such formal preparations in a number of ways. For example:
- Maintaining clear communication with families
- Providing ongoing opportunities for work experience/volunteer work
- Providing specific Career Education content (e.g., opportunities to practice job interview skills/ complete job applications/develop a resume, discuss disability disclosure, and explore possible job options)
- While Employment Service Providers can assist with all of the above, you can also find some useful tips to assist your student at SEEK.com
- Encouraging engagement in paid work (casual/part-time) while at school
- Liaising with mentors with a vision impairment who have achieved success in their post-school lives and fostering links between them
- Facilitating discussions/meetings between students and Guidance Officers/Career Advisors (i.e., conducting vocational assessments)
- Providing opportunities to experience a range of assistive technologies and devices that may be useful for future employment
- Providing information about employment agencies and other post-school supports
Further Options You May Need To Consider:
- Centrelink – allowances and job search registration
- Support available – Employment Services Providers for job search, technology, placement and ongoing supports.
- Mobility and Transport requirements – what mobility skills do you need to consider for the student?
- Workplace Modification Scheme – designed to purchase specialist equipment, such as Adaptive Technology hardware/software, to assist the blind or vision impaired employee in undertaking their duties in the workplace at no cost to the employer or employee
- Supported Wage Scheme – designed to assist those employees who are not able to reach full productivity; they can be assessed against accepted productivity standards and paid a wage based on the assessed productivity levels achieved.
- Employers Expectation – click here for some insight into what most employers are looking for.
Working Examples:
Casie’s story:
Casie, 23, is now employed full-time in business administration duties at Families SA, having benefited from a government traineeship organised by the RSB after she left school.
Having made initial contact with the RSB during her Year 12 studies, Casie came to the RSB for assistance in obtaining a traineeship after her initial employment plans didn’t work out well. “When I left school I really didn’t think that finding work would be difficult, but then I was unemployed for two years,” she says.
“The RSB gave me the nudge I needed to get moving in the right direction. After the traineeship, I was able to get some temp work and now I have a permanent position. They steered me into the work area that I wanted.”
Casie’s story: excerpt from the book “RSB – The Vision to Make a Difference” – 2010
SA School for Vision Impaired (SASVI) / Seaview High School unit links with RSB:
One of the components of the Vision Support Program (VSP) at Seaview High School is the transition from school to community options such as volunteering, employment and study.
Students who are blind and have low vision need additional support and programs to develop social skills and self-advocacy, independent living skills, orientation and mobility, organisation and work skills and use of adaptive technology.
To ensure that young people who are vision impaired have the best chance of employment and inclusion in the wider community, programs such as work ready and pre-employment skills as offered by the RSB are critical. The VSP at Seaview HS links with many different community agencies including RSB to deliver high quality programs to maximise student learning outcomes.
It is critical that young people who are vision impaired receive the ‘transition to post-school options’ in the senior years of secondary schooling to prepare them for making choices and assessing available resources in the wider community.
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