For a person with a disability, getting a job after graduation is often the combination of the right job, right person and right employer. For example, the case of Mary the dishwasher from our Caring for Our People Training workshop on Vocational Rehabilitation, the job requirements generally matched the tasks Mary could do. Although she did not handle stress well, it was a friendly family café and they were willing to tolerate her little quirks in exchange for having a person who was pleasant and reliable as a dishwasher.
In looking for a job situation, look for that ‘fit’ between the individual and the position.
Vocational rehabilitation often does not result in successful employment, at least not immediately. Based on the report of the Georgia State Rehabilitation Council a little over one in six people who received VR services were employed, about 6,400 out of 35,000. Of these 6.400 people, one fourth (about 1,600) stayed on the job less than 90 days. Is that to say that VR is unsuccessful and you should not pursue it? Not at all! First of all, over 4,700 people DID get jobs and keep them. Secondly, one thing these statistics don’t show is the number of people who did not get jobs right away through VR but did so eventually. I know personally two Native Americans with doctorates and a third who was nationally recognized as outstanding in his profession all of whom were VR clients and not the kind that make the ‘success story’ column for a few (or several) years. They continued drinking in some cases, were unemployed for a while and emerged college graduates and successful professionals.
Even if VR does not produce employment right away, it does in many cases provide job skills, education and a changing work ethic that in the long run results in greater success.
What you need to know to get good VR services