By Gordon Dryden
Royal National Institute of the Blind
Background statistics
- There are about 90,000 blind and partially sighted people of working age in the UK
- of whom approximately 25 per cent are in employment.
- More than half of these people are over the age of 50
- Employment levels peak between 25 and 35 years of age and decline rapidly after the age of 45
- Younger people tend to be better qualified and there is a high correlation between qualification level and employment.
- The general shift in the national economy from manufacturing to knowledge based activity is reflected in the employment pattern of blind and partially sighted people.
- There are now fewer than 1000 blind and partially sighted people in sheltered workshops compared to over 10,000 just 15 years ago.
- On the other hand the employment rate of young people who have gained access to university has improved.
- Statistics for the income levels of visually impaired people are not available but figures for disabled people as a whole indicate that disabled women earn 17% less than non-disabled women and disabled men earn 21% less than non-disabled men. It is probably fair to assume that a similar situation exists for blind and partially sighted workers.
Training and Education
Successive legislation has improved opportunities for disabled
students. A survey by RNIB showed that visually impaired students
were following a widening range of courses and that traditional
areas such as law and physiotherapy are now minority subjects.
The most popular areas of study are now based on information technology and business administration.
Participation rates in post-school education are still too low at
little over half that for non-disabled students but results for
those who do participate in higher education are, on average,
better than those for non-disabled students.
Recent legislation (Learning and Skills Act, 2000) requires all
colleges and universities to make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of students with disabilities and is expected to further
increase opportunities for blind and partially sighted students.
Support in Employment
RNIB's Adult Needs Survey indicated that early intervention is
necessary if individuals are not to lose their jobs. Despite this, intervention when an individual loses his/her sight is uncertain and often late.
Disabled individuals who require support in employment, whether in relation to recruitment or job retention, can now expect employers
to make reasonable adjustments. This is a requirement of the
Disability Discrimination Act, 1996.
The government provides further support through the Employment Service which operates a national network of Disability Services Teams. These teams provide advice and expertise in supporting disabled people in employment and also run the Access to Work Scheme.
Access to Work provides subsidy to employers and employees to finance workplace alterations, travel to work, special equipment and
personal support. This scheme has been especially useful for visually impaired people.
The Disability Services teams refer to specialist organisations when an appropriate area of expertise is missing from their own team. This has helped to develop working relationships with specialist disability organisations.
Visual impairment is the only disability for which there are
arrangements for specialist residential rehabilitation. Clients are
referred by the Employment Service to RNIB centres at Manor House
or, in Scotland, to Alwyn House.
Current Developments
The government has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at
moving disabled people from welfare into the labour market.
RNIB has argued strongly for a benefits and support system that encourages visually impaired people to achieve an optimum level of engagement in the labour market.
It appears that the government are focusing on getting as many people into employment as possible within a limited budget. The impact is likely to be that those nearest to the labour market and who need the least assistance attract resources. Those furthest from the labour market who need the most help are likely to be ignored. There is a deep concern that the limited resources for supported employment, which currently
supports individuals who are least likely to be able to compete in
an open labour market, will be diverted to support less disabled people.
Conclusion
There have been significant improvements in training and employment opportunities for visually impaired people over the past ten years. However, those benefits have been disproportionately to the benefit
of younger well-qualified people and the situation for older poorly qualified visually impaired people has deteriorated.
September 2000
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