Self-employment: An under-utilised vocational rehabilitation strategy

Abstract

Over the last two decades self-employment has become an increasingly attractive option for many individuals, including people with disabilities. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that vocational rehabilitation service providers continue to hold negative views about self-employment as a service delivery option for their clients. Given the lack of Australian research in this area, this study examined attitudes of rehabilitation counselors towards self-employment. Data were collected from 143 rehabilitation counsellors across Australia using a survey instrument developed by Ravesloot and Seekins. Results indicated that rehabilitation counselors generally held positive attitudes towards self-employment as a vocational outcome for their clients, providing it was financially viable and clients possessed requisite social skills. However, they also reported a lack of organisational support for self-employment as a placement option. The implications of these results for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for more government intervention in this area to encourage rehabilitation providers to offer self-employment to consumers.