PEOPLE who are blind or have low vision are five times more likely than the average Australian to be unemployed.
That's a confronting statistic but it becomes even more so when you consider that people with other disabilities are only two times as likely as members of the general population to be unemployed.
‘'Employment is a big thing, it defines you,'' says Maryanne Diamond, president of the World Blind Union, an organisation that represents the estimated 285 million people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted, and which has launched a global employment initiative.
‘'Lack of meaningful employment results in poverty, lack of opportunity and access to services, low self-esteem and both social and economic isolation,'' she adds.
‘'When you have paid work, you can make choices, so by addressing employment, you're addressing a whole lot of other issues relating to equity.''
The WBU Employment Initiative was developed because the situation for blind people has not improved much over the past three decades despite more access to education, technology and a more inclusive society.
Diamond says two main strategies have been adopted to tackle the problem. The first is to change awareness levels and assumptions among employers regarding the capabilities of people who are blind.
‘'People, including employers, fear blindness,'' Diamond says. ‘'It's also fear of the unknown, in terms of concerns about hiring people who are blind and partially sighted. ‘'How will they find their way around the office? Will their equipment and accommodations cost too much? Will I need to give them an assistant? How will they get in and out of the building?''This is also why matching the right job to the right candidate is so critical.
An employer who has had a good experience employing someone who is blind or has another disability will be more inclined to do so again, Diamond points out.
‘'But a mismatch is almost disastrous, because the person won't take the chance again.''
Changing the work readiness levels and self-assurance of people who are vision-impaired is the second important strategy towards addressing employment issues.
‘'Blind people must have access to education, training, peer support and the development of technical and social skills that will enable them to secure and maintain good employment,'' Diamond says.
She points out that children who are blind or have low vision tend to be excluded from the after-school work experiences in shops or cafes that their peers take for granted.
‘'Working as a casual as a kid can build a lot of confidence,'' she says. ‘'You build a whole lot of skills in dealing with people, such as working with people you don't like or wouldn't choose as friends, and dealing with managers.''
It also provides young job- seekers with the track records and references that allow them to showcase their skills and personal qualities when they hunt for subsequent employment.
Diamond, who suspects she is the first blind woman in Australia to graduate in both mathematics and information technology, worked for many years as a systems analyst in Victoria with organisations including the Department of Housing and Planning and the road traffic authority.
She moved into advocacy roles, first working with Blind Citizens Australia and later the Australian Federation of Disability Organis-ations, when she became the parent of a child with a disability. (Her eldest son, who recently graduated from university, has low vision.)
In addition to serving as WBU president, Diamond is now working as general manager within the international and stakeholder relations area of Vision Australia.
She says jobseekers in Australia who are blind or have low vision are 64 per cent more likely to be employed if they have used Vision Australia's employment services, or services of the Disability Employment Network, compared to those who do not.
Vision Australia's employment services help people to find work in a range of industries and roles, from professional and administration to trades and services.
This is achieved by undertaking a range of functions, including conducting workplace assessments and providing assistance to access funding for technology, providing information and training to employers and co-workers, and offering support and strategies to ensure the job can be maintained.
For example, the employment services team in Brisbane helped Scott Preston, who has low vision due to cone-rod dystrophy of the retina, secure part-time employment in a music store.
Vision Australia installed magnification software on the store's computer, brought in a larger monitor and a CCTV, and gave Preston a voice recorder to use instead of pen and paper.
After a 13-week trial, Preston was offered a permanent position. Recently, he completed Vision Australia's 26-week Stepping Forward job-seeking program for people who are blind or have low vision, which is funded by the state government's Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.
''I picked up a lot of tips on the course, especially keyboard techniques that have helped me towork faster,'' Preston says.
For more information on employment services offered to people who are blind or have low vision, visit http://employmentservices.visionaustralia.org/.