Washington State Department of Services for the Blind

Job Readiness*

The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program under the Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) is designed to improve the participant’s job readiness and marketability from the first contact, through plan development, service delivery, and placement. The counselor/team facilitate continuous feedback to the participant throughout the VR process regarding aspects of employability such as:

Adaptive skills

Computer literacy

Transferable skills

Appropriate work behaviors

Interpersonal skills

The counselor/team assure that the participant considers and addresses many critical questions during the VR process, such as:

Is my location and residence supportive of employment? Do I have adequate transportation to maintain a job, wealth of job opportunities in the area, resources, support systems, etc.?

Does the expected income from employment exceed my current income? DSB emphasizes competitive outcomes, which means that the job pays at least minimum wage in an integrated setting.

Do I demonstrate appropriate work attitudes and behaviors? These include interest, dependability, motivation, leadership, independence, self-confidence, initiative, cooperation, teamwork, ability to receive feedback and criticism, etc.

Do I have work personality traits, such as the ability to relate to co-workers, flexibility, ability to accept supervision, ability to manage frustration, etc.?

Do I have learning ability for work? Can I follow written instructions, learn varied tasks, follow diagrams, follow models, learn complex tasks, measure, make decisions, solve problems, follow oral instructions, count, learn to correct errors, etc.?

Do I have average or better work habits? These include attendance, neatness, organization, punctuality, adaptability, safety awareness, industriousness, maintenance of effort, etc.