The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) has published a booklet called ‘Career Paths, a guide to job possibilities’, which proves that having a vision impairment does not necessarily prevent you from following your chosen career path.

Aimed at students and adults with a vision impairment as well as career guidance teachers and disability officers, the booklet is available on request from NCBI or online at www.ncbi.ie. Thirteen Irish people with vision impairments recount their personal experiences, and the different routes each of them took to succeed in their professions - ranging from journalism, to social work, law, information technology and telephony and many others.

One of the thirteen people, Michael Gogarty, is Disability Policy Advisor with SIPTU. He attributes his success to his adaptability "Being vision impaired all my life, my main method has been learning how to adapt and succeed in situation. The vast majority of employers are positive to employing people with a disability, because they may have a disability themselves or a close family member may have. Disability is not so new, it is just a matter of further raising awareness. You have to sell yourself on what you can do."

Des Kenny Chief Executive of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland explains that there are many blind and vision impaired people pursuing successful careers in a wide variety of jobs. "More and more, access to rewarding employment is becoming easier and technology has played a big part in making this happen. We are proud to introduce you to these blind and partially sighted people who are no strangers among their peer group and who have proven that each and every one of us has a right to claim our place at our chosen career. We hope that they will inspire others to do so."

The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) operates an Employment Support Unit which aims to facilitate people with a vision impairment in gaining access to employment through individual assessments to identify needs, information and guidance towards training options as well as guidance and training in job seeking skills. The unit also provides specialist advice on legislation, employer/employee specific needs and awareness training. Information packs are available to employers, potential employees, to students and training establishments. They are also available online at www.ncbi.ie

The Career Paths booklet and the education and employment information packs are available on request from the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI)