Students

Choosing a career - students

Summary: Advice on making decisions about careers, and where to find information, for blind and partially sighted students.

• Where to start
• Work experience - demonstrate your potential
• Widen your career horizons
• Recognise your skills and abilities
• Look at your interests
• Take a Gap Year
• Support from RNIB
• Showing that you can do a job
• Other sources of support
• Further information
• Order a factsheet

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Choosing a career may be one of the biggest decisions you have to take. Whether you have a disability or not, you need to make sure you have the right education and training for your career, and do some research into the employment market.

It's also vital to know what you're good at. Getting a job that plays to your strengths is important - careers advisors can help you to understand where your skills lie. For example, a highly organised individual may thrive in a different environment from a creative person.

You may also find that you can train to develop your strengths or become better at things you find difficult.

Where to start

The process of making career decisions usually starts at secondary school in subjects including Careers Education and Citizenship. However, most school subjects, from Maths to English, have material that is relevant to careers. If you're coming to a career decision later in life, talk to professionals about your strengths and interests.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time and energy on choosing a suitable career. It isn't easy, but there are a variety of professionals who can help you, both in making career decisions and in accessing employment opportunities. It is worth consulting with them as early as possible. Brief details of some of them are listed below.

Work experience - demonstrate your potential

To get a job, you often have to show some experience and skills which can be transferred to it. Work experience is an ideal way to do this. Many employers recognise that work placements help people develop valuable skills and give them an insight into the realities of the workplace.

The organisations below may be able to help you get a work placement:

Blind in Business
Wingate Annexe
St Alphage House
2 Fore Street
London EC2Y 5DA
Telephone: 020 7588 1885
Fax: 020 7588 1886
Email: info@blindinbusiness.org.uk

Employment Opportunities
Crystal Gate
3rd Floor
28 - 30 Worship Street
London EC2A 2AH
Telephone: 020 7448 5420
Fax: 020 7374 4913
Email: info@eopps.org

Shaw Trust
Fox Talbot House
Greenways Business Park
Malmesbury Road
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN15 IBN
Telephone: 01225 71 63 50
Fax: 01225 716301
Email: stin@shaw-trust.org.uk

Skill: National Bureau for students with disabilities
Chapter House
18 – 20 Crucifix Lane
London SE1 3JW
Information Service: 0800 328 5050
Email: info@skill.org.uk

Skill provides a wide range of information and publications on study, work placements and careers.

If you're still at school, your Connexions Service should be able to provide you with information about work placements. At college and university, there will usually be a named tutor on your course who will provide information about going on work placements.

Widen your career horizons

Some blind and partially sighted people become concerned about their future employment prospects and are tempted to narrow their career horizons.

You should avoid this. RNIB has gathered a wealth of information which reveals the types of work that blind and partially sighted people do. The employment opportunities available are extremely wide, ranging from accountancy to youth work, from computer programming to work in the theatre. The work ranges from unskilled to managerial and professional.

Recognise your skills and abilities

Think positively about yourself - recognise your skills, aptitudes and personal qualities, particularly those which can be transferable across a range of jobs.

You may even have gained new skills as a direct result of your sight loss. For example, the need to plan ahead for your studies helps to develop organisational and time management skills; speaking to teachers and other staff about your individual learning support needs helps to improve your communication skills, which may also involve being assertive; and working with support staff may involve negotiating skills in getting them to work to your own preferred style of working.

Ask yourself if you enjoy working alone or with people, if you are a stickler for detail or more interested in big ideas - questions like this can help to guide your choice.

Look at your interests

The leisure activities you choose can have more than just a relaxing effect on your life. They can improve your mental and physical development as well as teach you social skills, life skills, teamwork and leadership, among others. All of these attributes can be transferred into your working life and help you develop as a person and as a professional.

It may even be possible to develop your chosen activity into paid employment - what better way to enjoy life than to do something you love for a living? If you enjoy complementary therapies, the combination of your passion and a course to develop your skills may result in you working within the industry (for example, reflexology, aromatherapy, massage). If fitness interests you, a career in the leisure industry may be appropriate.

RNIB’s Leisure Service offers access information and advice to anyone wishing to begin or develop an activity or pastime. The range of topics is limitless – from art to running a marathon, the choice is yours. We can supply contact details of many organisations that can assist you develop your chosen activity and yourself. To find out more about this service, see Leisure or contact our Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or 020 7388 2525, or email helpline@rnib.org.uk.

Take a Gap Year

Like many other people, you may want to take a year out from education. You could spend time abroad or in the UK travelling, or pursue temporary paid or voluntary work. A Gap Year can provide an opportunity to obtain useful skills which will help your job prospects.

• Find a Gap
• Gap-Year.com

Support from RNIB

As a blind or partially sighted person, you may need to take into account a few additional matters when choosing a career. There is more support than ever for access to information, work processes and other aspects of work. Look at our RNIB Employment Services advice for blind and partially sighted people looking for work or in work.

Telling your employer about a sight problem

Some employers and recruitment staff may have little or no experience of working with blind or partially sighted people, so they may need persuading that the work can be done if appropriate strategies and adaptations or adjustments are used. Before actively seeking work, get advice on when and how to declare a sight loss to prospective employers.

Employers and discrimination

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate unfairly against disabled people in recruitment, promotion, training, working conditions and dismissal. The employer has a duty to make any reasonable changes to the workplace, or the way the work is done, in order to make life easier for the disabled person to meet the tasks of the job. Further information can be found within the Employment and your rights factsheet listed at the end of this document.

See our employment factsheets on the Disability Discrimination Act and Career Support and Job Seeking Resources.

Showing that you can do a job

Once you've decided which career to follow, the next step is to consider the job and the employers, and to determine the best way to show that you have the essential qualities for the job, as well as the ability to do the work required.

The following agencies can help:

• RNIB Post Compulsory Education and Training Officers and the RNIB Physiotherapy Support Service are able to advise blind and partially sighted students or individuals seeking post compulsory education, about educational and vocational opportunities available. See student services available from RNIB Regional Centres and useful contacts and services for students.
  
• The RNIB Employment Line from RNIB Employment Services can provide information, advice and support on a range of employment issues for blind and partially sighted jobseekers, employees and employers. Telephone 0870 013 9556 or email employmentline@rnib.org.uk.
  
• RNIB Employment Officers are available to provide information and advise blind and partially sighted individuals about employment, self employment, work place assessments (including Access to Work assessments) and access to the working environment.
  
• RNIB Technology Officers assess and advise on specialist equipment for study and employment. They also advise on good practice guidelines for web accessibility and producing information in alternative formats. See technology for details.
  
• RNIB Library and Information Services team can advise on books about careers and other material which may be available in your preferred format. See accessing libraries and information services.
  
• RNIB Welfare Rights Service can offer advice and information on the full range of benefits available. Telephone: 0845 766 9999 or 020 7388 2525, or email brit@rnib.org.uk.

Other sources of support

If you are resident in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, please contact your RNIB Centre who can advise on relevant services available to you.

• RNIB Scotland - telephone: 0131 311 8500
• RNIB Cymru - telephone: 02920 45 04 40
• RNIB Northern Ireland - telephone: 02890 32 93 73

If you live in England, the following two sections about Connexions and Information, Advice and Guidance Services may be of help to you.

Connexions

Connexions is an advice and guidance service for all 13 to 19 year olds. It is also open to disabled people up to 25 years old.

All young people who want extra support will have access to a Personal Adviser who will assess their individual needs and help them prepare for the transition process into further or higher education, training and/or employment. The Personal Adviser may also assist a young person who has a visual impairment to access specialist services such as RNIB, rehabilitation and mobility support and benefits advisers. It is worth checking with your Personal Adviser that s/he is aware of the specialist advice and support available from RNIB and other agencies.

For more information about the Connexions Service, including your local service, speak with your careers teacher at school or visit the Connexions website.

Please note: at the time of writing, Connexions services are undergoing change as careers advisory services for young people are now the responsibility of your local authority’s Childrens’ Service Department. Your careers teacher at school and college will be able to provide you with more up-to-date details.

Nextstep Services

Nextstep Partnerships help adults to obtain support locally in accessing information and support for further learning, training and employment. The support is impartial and confidential and is offered by suitably qualified staff.

Each Nextstep Partnership delivers information and advice through a network of local organisations that have been accredited by the MATRIX standard. These include careers services, colleges, universities, libraries, private training and advice services and voluntary and community-based organisations. To access your local Nextstep, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or staff at JobcentrePlus, or visit the Nextstep website.

Other services

Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are based at local JobcentrePlus offices. The DEA will help blind and partially sighted people with their job search by assessing their abilities and helping them target a suitable job. The DEA can advise on getting specialist equipment into the workplace (eg via the Access to Work Scheme) or talk to an employer about how best to adapt premises.

Jobcentre Staff/Client Advisers can be a good source of advice about finding a job and can help with providing details of job vacancies in an accessible format, provide details of job clubs, job search seminars and further training opportunities.

Professional Support Groups for blind and partially sighted students and job seekers can also provide useful information, advice and support (for example, the Society of Visually Impaired Lawyers). Work Experience Placements can become an excellent means of developing work based skills and demonstrate to a potential employer the range of abilities and personal qualities of the job seeker. Sandwich courses at colleges and universities are very popular with students, as they incorporate work placements into degree programmes. There are a number of organisations that can help arrange work experience placements for unemployed graduates and college leavers. For details of these and professional support groups, please refer to our employment factsheet on Career Support and Job Seeking Resources.

Rehabilitation Workers, Mobility Officers and Social Workers for Visually Impaired People are usually employed by local Social Services departments and voluntary organisations. They can offer a direct service in mobility training and act as a channel to other services. Rehabilitation workers can be very useful once a blind or partially sighted person has found employment.

Further information

The following is a selection of additional resources which may prove useful.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission helpline provides booklets and factsheets about the Disability Discrimination Act. Telephone: 08457 62 26 33

The Prospects website offers careers advice for graduates and job seekers.

Professional bodies also have their own websites, for example:

• Training and Development Agency for Schools (careers in teaching)
• Law Society (careers in law)

Order a factsheet

You can get a version of the information on this page in print, disk and email formats. Braille and audio versions can be produced on request. Please contact:

Karen Edwards, RNIB
Telephone: 01509 632 416
Email: karen.edwards@rnib.org.uk.

Student homepage

Content author: studentsite@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13