The Pre-Employment Programme Trainer’s Manual

The Pre-Employment Programme Trainer’s Manual was written by Dr. Karen Wolffe and published in 2011 by the RNIB. It describes how to offer a small group  of people (i.e. 10-12) who are blind or partially sighted a structured learning experience to help prepare them for employment. The manual includes the following:

• An introduction that describes how to recruit individuals and evaluate their ability to participate in a meaningful way in the Pre-employment programme (PEP). The instructions also explain how to use the manual and its accompanying toolkit, handouts for participants and supplemental information for facilitators.
• Fifteen modules that cover areas such as self-awareness, career exploration, job seeking skills, job maintenance, and job search. Each module includes outcomes that participants can achieve, a rationale for teaching the content, an overview of the content, and trainer notes that describe how to implement the PEP.
• Specific references to tools (worksheets, templates, checklists, etc.) that the facilitator can use to teach or reinforce content, evaluate participant progress, and document the participants’ application of skill through in-class activities and homework. In addition, there are supplemental materials for facilitators to help them develop their group and career counselling techniques.

All of the materials in the PEP trainer’s manual are available in PDF or Word documents, so that they can be easily accessed by electronic readers and produced, if desired, in braille and print. Handouts with graphics are available in files appropriate for production in print or braille.

These materials are currently only available in English; however, a number of programs and groups around the world are translating or considering the materials for translation.

If your organization, school, or agency is interested in knowing more about how to use these materials, adapt them for use in your country, or has any other questions or concerns about the PEP, please contact the primary author, Dr. Wolffe, at kwolffe@austin.rr.com.