The link between occupational information and assessment is weak in the UK. Take Incapacity Benefit for example - eligibility is assessed by medical doctors who are unlikely to understand job accommodations, using a test that gives little consideration to the labour market and actual occupations. Yet the result can declare someone as incapable of work. So how is occupational information gathered, recorded and presented to visually impaired people throughout their assessment and are the tools available for use in vocational rehabilitation suitable for use by and with visually impaired people? In this information age how can occupational information be made accessible, relevant and useful to visually impaired people, employers and service providers? This paper proposes a Vocational Information System that could draw these disparate groups, with wide-ranging needs, a little closer together.
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