The Relationship between Training Activities and Job Placement in Vocational Education of the Severely and Profoundly Handicapped

Abstract

This paper discusses problems associated with vocational training and job placement by focusing upon the functional relationship between the two. Developing a successful prevocational training program for the severely and profoundly handicapped is contingent upon a precise specification of the long-term objective, job placement. Rather than providing a flexible and general training program that could potentially lead anywhere (and, as a consequence, would probably lead nowhere), this approach specifies the client's next most probable placement as the basis for arranging training. This means that an assessment of the requirements for entry into the next job placement or training program is necessary. The information obtained from this assessment provides a basis for evaluating individual clients' strengths and weaknesses for that particular job. The client assessment, in turn, determines the appropriate prevocational training objectives, which in turn suggest the range of training activities that most probably relate to the targeted job. The paper also describes a procedure employed In a pilot study to assess entry-level requirements of sheltered workshops in the Seattle area. The instrument developed from that study is attached for possible use in other prevocational training programs serving the severely and profoundly handicapped.