Vocational Training

Integration in Mainstream Vocational Training Centers

by Gunnar JANSSON






Introduction

My name is Gunnar Janzon and for almost 15 years I have been working as a specialist for partially sighted and blind at the Employment Office, Special Resources for Visually Impaired in Gothenburg, Sweden. Our work in the vision team consists of helping people with sight problems who are looking for a job or already have one.

Our contributions consist of for example:

    - Information on the possibilities on the labour market

    - Deepened guidance for better self-knowledge when it comes to choosing studies or careers

    - Vision investigation with emphasis on practical vision requirements in working life

    - Introduction at a training post or workplace with for example information to colleagues and management and training in finding your way in the premises

    - Work place adaptation when we recommend assistive aids and check the environment at the work place both from a physical and psychosocial perspective


We can be contacted via the local employment office for unemployed or, for those who have a job, via employers or the regional social insurance office.



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The Swedish labour market policy

The Swedish labour market policy has for a long time been based on the fundamental conviction that unemployment is of primary concern to society and that the principal task for the government is to keep it as low as possible. In order to combat the consequences of unemployment, the government, acting within the framework of the general labour market policy, has pledged itself to take both general and selective measures to improve the unemployment prospects of job seekers who are insecurely established on the labour market.

Employment offices provide the service to the job seekers. The basic assignment is the same, regardless of whether a job seeker has a functional impairment or not. Special attention is paid to job seekers with special needs.

Integration and mainstream

Our legislation provides support for integration. There is an action plan for the application of the disability policy and there is also a ban on discrimination in working life. A special authority, the Disability Ombudsman, has been set up to work out recommendations and execute control. State authorities like the Labour Market Administration (AMV) shall be role models. Accessibility rules should be applied for the premises, information and activity. The basic concept is "Design for All".

This work is going on within different fields. The AMV has come quite far. For example, work is going on aiming at creating better accessibility to web-based services within the employment office and these services are quite well developed in Sweden. There are special main stream programmes to increase the integration of people with functional impairment into the normal labour market education. Special support, i.e. regarding pedagogy, study techniques and ergonomics must be provided in order to create possibilities for disabled people to take part in the normal education.

We, who work in the Employment Office, Special Resources for Visually Impaired, have the aim to integrate everybody successfully regarding job, training and education in the ordinary system.

Almost all introduction, vocational training and evaluation take place at the individual work places. Only during short periods there are special group activities with other visually impaired, i.e. guidance in groups and job seeking activities.

Complementary skill training like low vision training and mobility training is done on an individual basis.

We have special competence and function as an advisory body to our principals: the local employment offices and the social insurance offices. After our investigation and our recommendations they purchase education, training and technical aids from private suppliers and education arrangers. This can be for example a basic computer education (ECDL computer driverīs licence), disability informer and individually adapted courses. In this context we together look into which individual aid adaptations are necessary to enable the individual concerned to complete the education and the practical work period successfully.



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Labour market measures

Wage subsidies

An employer hiring a person with reduced work capacity, referred by the Employment Service, can receive financial compensation in the form of a wage subsidy.

Support for personal assistance

This support is intended to provide the employer with financial compensation for the additional costs entailed at the workplace for allocating personal resources to support persons with impairment.

Support for assistive devices at the work place

Support for assistive devices refers both to individual working aids intended for a person with an occupational impairment and to special actions at the work place.

Education

Every summer the Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired, in collaboration with the Labour Market Board (AMS), arranges preparatory courses for those who plan to go on to higher or continued studies. These courses are much appreciated and contain, among other things; information on society, learning techniques and general guidance. A special course for visually impaired who plan to educate themselves to become physiotherapists is held approximately every second year. After that course, the visually impaired are integrated in the ordinary education programme for physiotherapists.

Several visually impaired people have studied to become journalists, lawyers, engineers, social workers etc. The accessibility to the education programmes seldom depends on the visually impaired student. It is the lack of commitment from the Universities, attitudes and prejudices that hinder the students.

On some occasions special education programmes have been organised for visually impaired in telemarketing and to become masseurs.

Integrated education within the manufacturing industry has decreased maybe because of the increased automatization with robots and computer-control.



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Some Statistics

There are more than 100.000 known visually impaired persons in Sweden (1% of the population). Aprox. 15.000 are in employable age and the Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired believes that only 40 – 50% of those have a job. 1.200 are registered jobseekers.



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Collaboration and development

The collaboration between the different authorities responsible for the rehabilitation of visually impaired people is very important and can be developed further. This goes for the basic rehabilitation at the rehabilitation centres for the visually impaired, the social insurance offices and the municipalities. In Gothenburg there is a local network where we meet on a regular basis. Participants in this net are representatives from the employment office for rehabilitation, the rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired, the Association of the Visually Impaired, the social insurance offices and the school. We exchange experiences and together we try to come up with proposals for constructive solutions. On regional level, there is also a delegation for vocationally oriented rehabilitation.



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Difficulties and problems

What I have touched upon may sound positive and full of possibilities but in reality it is not easy for visually impaired to get a job on equal conditions as others.

Before 1990 almost all vocational preparatory rehabilitation and training of visually impaired were carried out by the so called Employability Institutes. After that, the responsibility for basic rehabilitation and training was passed on to the regional county councils. When this change took place a lot of special knowledge and long experience were lost. Lack of money and regional differences have made the situation difficult and has sometimes been seen as unfair by the individual and very rightly, too

The labour market has become tougher with stiffer competition and more stress in society. The demands for efficiency have increased. Society in general has also become more visually demanding.

It is hard to find suitable jobs for people with functional impairments which means that visually impaired do not even get a fair chance to show what they can do. It is necessary to have good knowledge of the Swedish language and general competence. There are still quite a few problems with negative attitudes.



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Own experiences – areas for development ?

I have been active within different parts of sight rehabilitation since 1975. My own sight problem has given me both practical and emotional experiences of what itīs like to be visually impaired. It is my firm conviction that the work always has to start from the individual and his/her own conditions and the work has to be done together with other collaboration partners as I mentioned above. We must see the possibilities and not the obstacles. This can be done by using a method which is solution oriented and this method must be given time to be developed, just like all rehabilitation.

To inform and show good examples are ways to change attitudes and overcome prejudices.

Sometimes I feel that the integration has been implemented without that it has been analysed enough, especially its psycho-social consequences. Identity and self-confidence are developed parallel to practical abilities like mobility, braille, knowledge of IT and social competence. They are very important for a successful integration and may well be achieved together with other visually impaired. It might even be that a period of positive segregation with other visually impaired is necessary in order to give security at the prospect of a demanding integration in real life.

As visually impaired it is hard to live an independent and integrated life in a more and more visually oriented and efficient society. Together with the organisations of visually impaired, society has a responsibility in supporting the individual so that he/she gets the strength to go on working. In this context it is important not to forget the visually impaired personīs own responsibility and activity in the job seeking process.

And lastly, I am sure that the experiences and ideas of the visually impaired themselves, together with the knowledge of the experts, can be utilised better in order to see the possibilities.



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