Implications of contemporary social change for vocational rehabilitation counselling

Abstract

Societies throughout the world are rapidly undergoing considerable change. Drucker (1985), the organizational management consultant, has predicted that the impending crises brought on by changes in society will pose an even greater threat for public-service institutions than for private-sector enterprises. As someone employed by the public sector and dedicated to it, I was at first disconcerted upon reading this projection. Then I was reminded of something else I had once read, about the Chinese character for 'crisis'. It is a combination of the symbols for 'threat' and 'opportunity'. Hopefully, by examining our changing societies with both a realistic view and an affirmative vision, we shall, like the Chinese, arrive at an understanding of each crisis on the horizon as a sign not only of threat but also of opportunity.The purpose of this paper is to delineate some prominent themes and observations for career counsellors, vocational rehabilitation practitioners and labor policy makers to deliberate with respect to the future of work for persons with handicaps, a population which historically has experienced more than its share of employment barriers and less than its share of societal attention. The domains selected for consideration of their impact constitute recent developments and forthcoming challenges in four major areas of society, demography, economy, social values, and technology. Within these domains, manifestations and implications of trends are identified sequentially for each of three designated groups involved in the vocational rehabilitation process. These are: (1) the disabled community, which encompasses people with disabilities, their families and advocates; (2) the serviceproviding communities from the education, rehabilitation and social welfare systems, and (3) the employment community, comprised of labor, management and policy makers. Most of the examples and documentation for this paper are derived from experiences in the U.S.A.; however, I trust they are not similarly limited in their significance. Hopefully, the following discussions will contribute meaningfully to the international exchange of ideas about the future of work for persons with disabilities and other under-