What Is Vocational Counseling?

Reaching economic security and independence is a proven way to increase your self-worth. Unfortunately, there are those who can’t return to their job due to a workplace injury or have a disability.

One of the best options for those individuals is to leverage vocational counseling to overcome the challenges of their current predicament.

But what is vocational counseling and how can it help disabled individuals attain vocational security?

Here’s the scoop.

Definition Of Vocational Counseling

Vocational counseling (sometimes referred to as vocational rehabilitation) is a service for developing skills to find employment. Those born or suffering from cognitive or physical impairments due to injuries can leverage vocational counseling to learn how to enter or reenter the workforce while taking into account their limitations.

In other words, vocational counseling helps individuals find and enter a field that is within their area of interest and scope of their capabilities.

For those who can’t perform in their previous job due to their disability, a vocational counselor can help find return-to-work options, which may include job modification. If that is not possible, the counselor will assess the individual’s ability to enter a new line of work or find any positions they may be able to perform with additional training.

When asking what is vocational counseling, you also have to consider what it includes. Typically, it’s focused on improving workplace skills, which includes:

1. Determining interests and aptitudes

2. Determining cognitive and physical abilities

3. Identifying any adaptive equipment that may help an individual find employment

4. Accommodating the workplace equipment or environment

5. Finding the appropriate training programs

6. Evaluating performance

Benefits Of Vocational Counseling 

Now that you’re familiar with what is vocational counseling, it’s useful to be aware of its benefits. For disabled individuals, it’s a straightforward and easily accessible way to discover the path to gainful employment. It not only helps determine the capabilities but is also a good base for developing a new set of skills. Vocational counseling also offers access to networking opportunities, training programs, as well as professional coaching.

In personal injury and workers’ comp cases, what is vocational counseling can be answered as a tool to determine lost earning capacity and lost earning - both major aspects of establishing economic damages in litigation. 

In case there is a dispute if the plaintiff can even return to work or what accommodations they need, a vocational expert can determine this particular element of damages. 

The process for personal injury may include:

1. Interview with the injured person

2. Interview with a physician

3. Vocational testing

4. Analysis of transferable skills

5. Survey of the labor market

6. Vocational evaluation report

How Do Vocational Experts Perform Vocational Counseling?

Vocational counseling usually takes place in different facilities, including government training facilities, community centers, vocational training centers, along with  colleges and schools. It can also be performed at a job site that has a supportive work program. A vocational expert may accompany a potential employee to a work site to assess the work environment and offer supervision.

Typically, the process starts after the vocational expert assesses the medical records, cognitive abilities, and physical limitations. That way, they can determine all the factors that affect the person’s capacity to maintain a job.

The expert must then establish further details, such as:

1. The interests of the individual

2. Physical conditions that limit performance

3. Suitable positions

4. Opportunities available

5. Physical and cognitive abilities required for specific occupations

To test the aptitude, the expert may perform standardized tests and compare them to the interest levels of the individual and required skills.

They may also evaluate the workflow to learn if all the tasks can be conducted without or with modifications or assistive technologies. If assistive technology can help boost work performance, the expert may coordinate the process of selection and application of the said technology.

Depending on the case, if vocational training is necessary, it will be focused on skills that equip the individual for success during training programs. These programs were created to prepare disabled individuals for the future in the workplace. 

Hence, training may include learning to operate adaptive tools such as handheld devices, writing utensils, computers, etc.

More importantly, these programs offer a great opportunity for disabled people to learn to perform work tasks with workstations that include assistive technologies. For instance, these may be customized desks, specifically adjusted equipment, as well as touch screens and voice synthesizers.

Who Can Provide Vocational Counseling Services?

Vocational experts have the necessary training, education, and experience to perform and express opinions on vocational counseling and vocational rehabilitation. They also have to be knowledgeable about employability, labor market analysis, job availability, together with  earning capacity projections. 

Vocational experts may focus on providing rehabilitation services to disabled or injured individuals by improving their employability. As we previously mentioned, they identify which jobs an individual can perform and how they can improve their employability with additional rehabilitation and training.

Some vocational experts specialize in recruitment or job placement. They’ll determine the skills needed for a position and go through potential employees who possess the necessary skills.

That’s not all as vocational experts may focus on litigation support and even testify on behalf of the plaintiff. For example, they may testify in personal injury cases where they calculate the value of the plaintiff's lost earning capacity.

They are also helpful in disability claims as they can help determine if the applicant for the benefits can find gainful employment. The same applies to workers’ comp cases in some states (Florida is one such state) where a vocational expert may demonstrate that the claimant can’t engage in their previous job.

Contact A Vocational Expert Today

Now that you know what is vocational counseling, you should be aware of how it can help you or a loved one. If you need a vocational expert for your personal injury or disability claim, you can’t go wrong with OAS Inc.

We have been involved in multimillion-dollar verdicts and have helped numerous individuals with our comprehensive services and reports. Our vocational experts have decades of relevant experience and we would be happy to help you in documenting all damages in your case and assist you in receiving the best possible settlement.

Call 800-292-1919 now to book a consultation with one of the best vocational experts in the nation - you won’t regret it.