New Trends in Vocational Training
by Jouni ONNELA
Viewpoints on the Foundation and Future of Vocational Training for Visually Impaired People
We know, that the situation and foundation for vocational training for visually impaired people are very different in different parts of Europe. The national structure of education, financial factors and labour market vary. This is why I give some views based on my own experience of the development of the vocational training.
The Target Group
First it’s worth while to analyse who needs training and to what extent it’s possible to offer vocational training to this target group.
Visually impaired people who need vocational training usually have different starting points. This also affects the content and goals of the training, as for the following groups:
- Those who have been blind and partially sighted since childhood, who have good study skills, but whose growth towards working life often needs significant measures.
- Those who have become disabled in adulthood, for whom rehabilitation needs to be included as a part of the vocational training.
- Multiply disabled visually impaired people (MDVI), for whom very different forms of training have to be found. To achieve permanent results often requires long-term functional changes in the living environment. That’s why the development of the living environment have to be included to the training process
How widely do we want to cover the training needs of the target group ? What is goal on the national level ?
New strategy in Finland
In Finland in the new strategy for vocational special education from 2002 the starting point is, that everybody has a right to vocational training. The main principle is integrated studies in general vocational colleges. The training should in practice be made possible also for very severely multiply disabled people independent of where they live. For these reasons, among others – to promote integration and arrange training for severely disabled people - in Finland it has been decided that strong special vocational training centres are still needed as a part of the network of vocational education colleges. The Arla Institute is the only one that’s specialized in training for visually impaired people and support for integrated studies of them, which still needs a fair amount of development.
The Labour Market’s Point of View
Another point of view on arranging vocational training comes from the labour market.
Employment forms:
Salaried employment
Salaried employment is considered primary, because this usually offers the best social security
Self-employment
Salaried employment is not always possible. In addition, many professions suitable for visually impaired people are based on entrepreneurship, such as professions in the field of physiotherapy. Entrepreneurship can also give opportunities to income in addition to social security. This is often the case in handicrafts professions. New fields for entrepreneurship should also be created without prejudice for example in the information technology and marketing sectors as well as individually in a great number of other market niches.
Different forms of supported employment
Developing
sheltered workshops are still very necessary. New forms of supported employment are spreading in Europe, such as the
supported employment model and
social enterprises.
All work should be considered equally valuable in the training, when the goals are set correctly in relation to the student’s abilities, opportunities and wishes.
The Future of Vocational Training
As I mentioned the situation varies in Europe. Anyway, here follows some example areas for development in the vocational training field:
Close links to working life development
The training should be increasingly linked to the demands of working life, because changes in work tasks and work environments are so fast in many areas. The workplace offers a real environment for learning a profession. Extensive on-the-job learning periods, partnership agreements as well as other solid ties to businesses create opportunities for vocational training that better answers the demands of working life. In many countries there is also a system of apprenticeship training, where the studies primarily take place in the workplace as salaried work.
Toward individual specialization
On the part of visually impaired people it seems necessary to create know-how on two levels :
1) Broad and good basic working life knowledge, for example interaction, communication, teamwork and it-skills create a general base for succeeding at work.
2) In addition very individual and solid specialisation for a suitable task is necessary already during the training. This supports employment.
For the vocational collage the goals of these two levels presents a great challenge. The financial situation requires training in groups. Individual specialization should still be possible. Mass individualization, a phrase famous from industry, might be
group individualization in the training. An opportunity for individual specialization for various tasks in working life is created on broad basic knowledge.
In order to maintain suitable training for blind and severely partially people,
integration toward special vocational colleges should be possible, too. It is possible to accept into the groups students with other special needs as well as students without disability. In Finland the number of non-disabled students in special vocational training centres can reach up to 20%.
Efficient use of network and distance learning
E-learning is being offered more widely, as well as the use of various e-learning platforms (computer programs). Visually impaired people must keep up with the development. Web-based learning in different forms should be offered. Information accessibility with assistive technology is one of the greatest challenges. Web pages don’t always open up to assistive technology. The same goes for e-learning platforms used by a number of education organizations. There is a danger of exclusion. The EU:s recommendations on network accessibility are at widely varying stages in different countries. Offering web-based and distance learning as well as promoting accessibility are today’s central challenges for training organisations and associations for visually impaired people.
Broadening and intensifying entrepreneurial training
In training where the end goal is self-employment, efficient business studies should be part of the studies. Creating product and service concepts, drawing up business plans, building a marketing and support network ready for when the business starts should take place as part of the studies. New products and services should be found. Home and care services in the social and health care field, services in the it-sector – those are examples of areas where businesses run by visually impaired people could be expanded. It would also be time for handicrafts to make a big come-back with new products and design as well as streamlined production and marketing structures.
In Finland instructor networks by visually impaired people have been created to serve other visually impaired people, among others, such as it-instructors teaching the use of assistive technology and handicrafts instructors to ensure quality of products. It’s worth mentioning, that the instruction is paid for by someone other than the visually impaired person needing the services.
Improving accessibility of training
Opportunities for integrated studies should be improved and expanded by all means. As I mentioned before, accessibility is central today. General study environments and on the other hand teaching methods should be developed to prevent exclusion.
When we want to offer wide opportunities for vocational training to visually impaired people, accessibility of the training becomes important. Especially those who become disabled in adulthood and MDVI-people are a great challenge. People who become disabled in adulthood usually have a wide knowledge base and experience, but their study skills are often incomplete. Their health situation demands both mental and physical rehabilitation during the training. Shorter training to a new profession as well as increasing web-based and distance learning opportunities helps this group significantly.
MDVI-people are also a great challenge. How can we secure the opportunity for them to get training and on the other hand that the results are permanent ? My feeling is, that it isn’t possible unless the training is linked to the student’s living environment. For this reason we have developed at the Arla Institute a mobile model of vocational training moving from one place to another. We bring the training to the environment where the multiply disabled visually impaired students live and where it is possible for them to find suitable work tasks either in a sheltered workshop or in accordance with the principles of supported employment model on the open labour market. An assistance at work is usually needed. There are some problems with financing this in Finland.
In conclusion
Foundation in working life, flexibility, individuality, accessibility, linked learning, rehabilitation and employment processes – those are some key words to describe the challenges for developing vocational training.
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