Source: The Conversation – UK
Through my research I have had the fortune of following 80 young people with vision impairment over 11 years. I tracked their journey from school through to adulthood, speaking at regular intervals to establish what had happened since we last spoke, what had gone well and what could have been improved.
The aim was to observe the different pathways they followed and their experiences of them. Despite achieving relatively well academically in comparison to other Send (special educational needs and disabilities) groups, young people with vision impairment have persistently poor employment rates and are particularly vulnerable to becoming economically inactive. My colleagues and I wanted to understand why this was and identify possible solutions.
When I first started working with the young people when they were aged 14 to 16, they were full of optimism for the future. They wanted to become social workers and teachers and psychologists. Yet by the end of the study, when they were aged between 25 and 27, many had never experienced paid employment and could not see a pathway into employment. Through the testimonies of the group, we learned of a range of barriers they faced, many of which were specific to their vision impairment.
Due to a postcode lottery of services, which meant that support varied according to where they lived, we found that many felt unprepared for adulthood and for navigating their lives as young adults with vision impairment. This included not being able to use assistive technology in a work context and not having the skills needed to be able to travel independently. Sometimes they simply lacked the confidence to declare their disability and request adjustments.
As “Brett” described: “To be honest, most of my colleagues don’t know I am visually impaired. I hate saying about it and think about it as a crutch if people know, and I don’t want a crutch.”
The young people described an inaccessible job market, with application systems and assessment processes that were extremely visual and not compatible with their assistive technology. They reported a general lack of knowledge from HR teams and managers on how to make the reasonable adjustments that are expected through the Equality Act.
“David” estimated he encountered accessibility challenges with a third of the 50 graduate schemes he applied for.
But that’s the most prohibiting factor about the recruitment process, is the online tests. A lot of them don’t work with speech [software], so the text it’s not interactive, it’s just like a picture. So even with extra time I can’t use speech software to read. A lot of companies just don’t understand that – they just think with extra time you will be sorted.
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For those who had completed education and were looking for support to find employment, they were met by Job Centre Plus staff who discouraged them from looking for work and work coaches who told them they thought it “impossible” for someone with a vision impairment to get a job.
Those who were successful in finding employment were restricted by delays and errors when applying for Access to Work, the government-funded scheme which helps pay for specialist equipment and support needed for disabled workers to access the workplace. Such delays are well documented, with recent government data showing it has been taking over 100 days for applications to be processed – way exceeding the target of 25 days.
A review carried out by former MP Alan Milburn, commissioned by the government, described the proportion of young adults becoming Neet (not in education, employment or training) as “an urgent national crisis”. Milburn found that young people are detached from the labour market, leading to huge proportions becoming economically inactive, raising concerns about the wider social and economic consequences. While it is vital to understand such broad social challenges, it is also important to explore additional challenges faced by minority groups, like those with vision impairment.
Negative perceptions regarding the numbers of disabled people who are not working contrast with the conversations I had in this study. I spoke with young people who wanted to be “given a chance” and to be financially independent.
In response to these findings, we recommend the formal recognition by the government of the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s curriculum framework for children and young people with vision impairment. This framework outlines the support needed by children and young people with vision impairment to ensure their educational and social inclusion, and to ensure they leave education as independent as possible.
Rachel Hewett receives funding from Royal National Institute of Blind People, Nuffield Foundation and Thomas Pocklington Trust. She is affiliated with the Labour Party.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/09/24/neet-with-a-disability-whats-holding-back-visually-impaired-young-people-who-want-to-work/