Contractor to expand job training program for blind, visually impaired workers nationwide

Dive Brief:

Government contractor Maximus announced April 5 the planned nationwide expansion of a pilot job training program for workers who are blind or visually impaired after six trainees successfully completed the training to become customer service representatives with the company.
Maximus said the initial pilot — which lasted six weeks and was completed by trainees in Texas — focused on developing skills needed to meet job requirements, including the use of assistive technologies.
Maximus partnered with IFB Solutions, a nonprofit that provides employment, training and services for people who are blind or visually impaired, to develop the training program. The organizations are training a second cohort through the program in 2023, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Maximus is one of several organizations to build talent pipelines via outreach to people with disabilities. The broad push for workplace diversity, equity and inclusion has seen employers in fields ranging from retail logistics to healthcare implement job training programs, apprenticeships and other formats in pursuit of talent.

An analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey by the American Federation for the Blind found that in 2020, people ages 16 to 64 who were blind or visually impaired had a labor force participation rate of 40%, down from 41% in 2019 and 43% in 2018.

On its webpage, AFB has said that low employment for people with vision loss “has nothing to do with the capabilities and qualifications” of those workers but instead occurs because employers “don’t understand how people who are blind or visually impaired can fit in and contribute to the workplace.”

Sources who previously spoke to HR Dive noted that employers may implement a range of accommodations that may allow workers who are visually impaired to perform the essential functions of a given job. Potential accommodations include tech such as accessible phones, external computer screen magnification, Optical Character Recognition systems and screen magnification software, according to the Job Accommodation Network.

Additionally, there are a variety of cultural norms employers can encourage to promote positive interactions between people with and without disabilities in the workplace.