Shinya Igota
Facility Director
The Vocational Development Center for the Blind and Low Vision in Japan(Social Welfare Corporation)

The Vocational Development Center for the Blind and Low Vision in Japan(JVDCB)

The Vocational Development Center for the Blind and Low Vision in Japan(JVDCB) supports individuals with visual impairments who want to work, want to continue to work, and just want to live meaningful lives. We are providing social welfare projects centering on vocational development and training for those individuals who wish to try their hand at office work using personal computers.

As the three pillars of our business, we provide employment transition support, continuous employment support-type B, and employment settlement support, as well as vocational development training and awareness-raising project for public utilities.

The spread of the coronavirus has changed the workplace environment significantly. Employment for the visually impaired is no exception, and an increasing number of people are seeking employment via telecommunication.

In keeping with the changing times, the employment transition support provided at our center also incorporates remote support, focusing on PC training. Until now, remote support has been permitted with temporarily relaxed requirements as a response to the coronavirus infection, but in accordance with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s guidelines for the use of services at home for employment-oriented welfare services for individuals with disabilities, we have a system in place to accept remote support at all times. In FY(fiscal year)2021, we provided 1,092 remote support sessions for employment transition support. The total number of times of support sessions was 7,156, accounting for more than 1/7 of the total number. The main focus of the support is PC training utilizing voice software. Therefore, it is possible to connect the training site and home with Zoom and participate in the training.

Remote support

The training room at the training site is equipped with a microphone speaker that collects the sound of the entire room so that the voices of remote users can also be heard in the training room during the session. One can not only attend one-sidedly but also can ask questions and participate in group discussions from home. If there is a problem, we use the Zoom function to solve the problem by remote control connected to the participant’s computer.

It is said that there are large regional disparities in employment transition support for the visually impaired, but with the cooperation of supporters and local governments in various regions, the circle of remote support is expanding to Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Kyushu.

In the continuous employment support type B, 1,504 remote support sessions were conducted. This represents less than 1/5 of the total number of supports provided, which was 7,156 times. The main work is tape transcription, but remote support has made it possible for veteran users who have difficulty going to the office due to poor health or other reasons.

In the area of employment settlement support, remote meetings were held every month in FY2021 to exchange information and hold study sessions. Remote support is also provided to workplaces that are difficult to visit. With the change in the way people work, the welfare system has flexibly incorporated remote support. Unfortunately, however, the support system on the labor side, such as vocational development training and workplace adjustment supporters (job coaches), continue to have difficulty implementing remote support.

Remote support started during the corona crisis, but the support system on the welfare side is spreading beyond the walls of the region. Of course, we also feel the benefits of face-to-face support on-site. We will continue to operate our business while enhancing both remote support and support for users who commute to the center.