Vocational rehabilitation aims to assist individuals with impairments to overcome handicaps and reintegrate into society using their skills. It involves vocational evaluation and assessment of interests, abilities, and strengths. Treatment objectives are set and procedures ensure job placement. Individuals learn about their vocational potential, barriers, and accommodations needed. Evaluations assess transferable skills, occupational requirements, and empower career decision making. Vocational rehabilitation centers provide vocational assessment, training, education, counseling, and job placement assistance.

1. VOCATIONAL TRAINING
By Baswanth k

2.  Vocational rehabilitation is a process that
assists individual with impairment to
overcome handicaps and try to reintegrate
them into society using their residual
intellectual capacities.
 Vocational evaluation is a comprehensive,
systematic process in which clients and
staff work together to identify and assess
the clients vocational interests abilities
strength.

3.  It includes:
a) collection and organization of data
b) setting of treatment objective
c) All procedure to ensure placement of the
individual
 It is an educational process in which the
individual learns about their vocational
potential barrier to employment and
reasonable accommodation or assistive
technology needed to remove those barriers,
and the functional impact of their disability
upon career options.

4.  They may identifiable transferable skills
(depend upon the work history) and learn
about the requirements involved in
occupational areas of interest.
 The evaluation process encourages the
individual to become more personally
involved in the planning and development
of their occupational careers.
 This knowledge empowers the individual
and fosters a greater degree of confidence
in career decision making.

5.  Feasibility interviews:-
◦ Outreach evaluations (mobile)
◦ Clinic evaluation
◦ Assessment – occupational focused.
◦ Assessment – career exploration.
 Types of vocational evaluation:-
◦ Range from tests specific to more complex
assessments
◦ Medical records
◦ Observation
◦ Inventors and check list
◦ Psychological, psychiatric and cognitive evaluation

6. Pre – vocational evaluation:-
 Clients information is analyzed and coupled in a
written report which leads to a conclusion about the
clients employability and recommended
rehabilitation plan.
 This report is usually prepared for the referring
agency but can be useful for their practice as well.

7. Pre-vocational Assessment
 EPIC functional capacity Evaluation:-
 Measures lifting capacity, motor coordination,
carrying and climbing.
RPGOS work simulation:-
 Compares client performance for requirement and
work speed.
 Functional assessment screening
questionnaire:-
 Evaluating pain related disability.
 Grip strength, dynamometer
 Goniometer
 Inventory of interpersonal problems
 Occupational stress indicator.

8. Vocational Rehabilitation
 In 1968 an agreement was signed between the
government of India and the government of USA for
setting up two vocational rehabilitation centres, one at
Mumbai and other at Hyderabad for assessing
vocational and psychological needs of the handicapped
person and to render rehabilitation assistance to them.
 According to ILO vocational rehabilitation is a process
to enable a disabled person to secure or retain suitable
employment.
 A more complete definition is medical, psychological,
social and occupational activities aiming to re-establish
among sick or injured people with previous work history,
their working capacity and pre-requisites for returning to
labor, market, that is a job or availability of a job

9.  Vocational rehabilitation mainly deals largely with
vocational assessment work re-training education
and counseling work guidance and ergonomic
modification and psycho social interventions.
 Vocational rehabilitation services have been
developed in number of countries to help a person
with an injury or disability to return to work or
prepare for their new work and other activities
 At present 20 rehabilitation centres for
handicapped have been functioning one each at
Agarlata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar,
Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur,
Ranpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Pondicherry,
Shrinagar.

10.  Vocational rehabilitation team:-
◦ The following members form a integral
part of the vocational rehabilitation team
 Counselor
 Evaluator
 Skilled trainer
 Placement officer

11. Vocational Rehabilitation Team
 Counselor: one who offers time, attention
and respect to another person who is
temporarily in the role of client.
 Basic skills involved in counseling;
◦ Ability to establish report
◦ Ability to ask specific and seemingly non
specific questions
◦ Ability to listen
◦ Ability to clarify and summarize
◦ Ability to tolerate idiosyncrasy
◦ Ability to match client pace
◦ Ability to share clients view

12. Responsibilities of a Counselor
 Evaluating vocational interest, atitude and skills
 Counseling patients who may shift to alternate occupation.
 Organizing activities to improve job related behavior ( i.e..,
interview, skill, work skill, employer – employee relationship
behavior).
 Acting as a liaison between training and placement agencies
and the patient
 Providing counseling education support to potential
employers
 Obtain relevant information about his client using
psychometric techniques if necessary

13.  Provide information about all occupation suitable
and also about those which client expresses an
interest
 Arrange where possible for client to obtain direct
experience of working environment
 Ensure that client has a clear grasp of career
options
 Co-operate fully as possible with all other
significant figures in client life
 Avoid assuming any responsibilities for patient
decision.

14.  Role of placement officer:-
◦ Placement officers liaisons with the
industry and commercial circle and
sometimes government.
◦ He should be aware of vacancies and
when they arise
◦ He will place candidate according to
seniority, proficiency, nearness from their
home to industry, attitude, communication
and mental status required for that job.

15. Services Rendered to the
Handicapped Person by the
Vocational Rehabilitation Centres
1. Interviewing:- Adult handicapped person for
knowing their personal, social, family, educational
and vocational background causing adjustment
problems.
2. Admission:- Admission of the handicapped person
to examine medically to assess their physical
efficiencies, measure psychological strength and
weaknesses in respect of their intelligence,
aptitude, areas of interest, psychomotor dexterity,
personality traits and areas of adjustment.

16. 3.Assessing :- The residual capacities, attributes,
functional skills of different categories of handicapped.
4.Examination:- Examination of the handicapped
persons by a panel of medical specialists to identify the
degrees of disability and functional capacities and
suggest remedial measures.
5. Testing:- Testing of the handicapped persons on the
job capabilities in different trades sanctioned under
VRC programmes such as electronics, electrical,
general mechanic, radio and TV repair, commercial
practice, air conditioning and refrigeration, automobile,
cutting and tailoring, computer applications, wood work,
arts and crafts, screen printing, photography, metal
trades, secretarial practice, painting ets.

17. 6. Imparting workshop training to develop
vocational adjustment in respect of their work habits,
on the job sustainability, to ensure their job
adjustment best suited to their strength and
weakness.
7. Evaluating the handicapped clients at the centers
to assess them in preparing their vocational plan for
enhancing their levels of knowledge and skills suited
to local job market needs and also assisting, guiding
and motivating them for diverting to self employment.

18. 8. Imparting in plant training under the scheme of
ministry of social justice and empowerment during
which clients are given stipend to sustain their
interest and motivation in the training.
9. Sponsoring and assisting the handicapped
persons to utilize the facilities of reservation against
seats in various educational or training institutions.
10. Sponsoring the handicapped persons to the
employers against vacancies notified to the VRCs
and taking follow up action.

19. 11. Recommending the handicapped persons
for grant of loans concerned financial
institutions under differential rate of interest or
setting up of various self employment
schemes.