It takes 2 to Tango

Jan Bloem July 25, 2014 TeleWork International Fair Bogota, Colombia

Overview

• Personal background

• Work experience

• Office organisation

• Office tasks

• Expectations and opportunities

• Statistics

• Dutch situation

• Summary for success

Personal background

Family status

• 47 years old, living in the Netherlands

• Married with Chantal and have 2 kids, Tycho and Rosalie

Education

• Agricultural Management, specialization: Informatics

Professional status

• Since 2006 International Sales Manager for Freedom Scientific

(home office)

Personal background

Handicap

• Progressive RP and MD

• Low vision at the age of 18

End of my dream to become a dairy farmer

• Legally blind at the age of 25

Rehabilitation

• At the age of 25 acquired braille, mobility, orientation and daily

living skills

Work experience

Before rehabilitation

• Software System developer in the agricultural sector

• Big struggle with loosing sight (no knowledge about assistive

technology)

After Rehabilitation

• Big relieve, work is still possible with assistive technology

• Computer with a screen reader (speech and braille output) and

screen magnification

• CCTV devices for desktop and handheld, OCR technology and

braille embossers

• From MS DOS to Windows 8

Work Experience

Employment from 1993 till 2001

• Manager Support at ALVA bv, Dutch manufacturer of braille displays

• Training, helpdesk and after sales

Volunteer work

• 7 months in Nepal and Tibet

• Project for the blind, Braille without Boarders

• 3 years in Nigeria, West Africa

• VSO, Sharing skills, changing lives

• Teacher for the blind at a school for the handicapped in the north

of Nigeria

• Setting up computer training for the blind in Nigeria

Work Experience

Today

• International Sales Manager Freedom Scientific, the leading

company in the assistive technology sector

• Operating out of my own house via teleworking

• Travelling world wide for attending exhibitions, conferences and

presentations

• Training dealers on our products

Office organisation

MS Windows Desktop computer

• Software: JAWS, MAGic, Openbook

• Hardware: Focus 80 braille display, Scan printer combination,

Topaz XL HD camera only, SARA CE

MS Windows Laptop

• Software: JAWS, MAGic, Openbook

• Hardware: Focus 40 Blue braille display, Pearl camera for OCR,

Ruby XL HD handheld camera

Office organisation

Smartphone and tablets

• NEXUS 7

• with TalkBack and BrailleBack

• Iphone

• with VoiceOver

• Windows 8 Tablet

• with JAWS, MAGic, Focus 40 Blue, Openbook and Pearl camera

Office tasks

Requirements

• Reliable internet for telework

• Skype for meetings and discussions

• E-mail, Internet and social media for information exchange

• Dropbox for effective file exchange

Note taking

• Office on Windows 8 tablet

• Nebulous notes on smartphone

• Voice memos on PlexTalk

Light weighted solutions with Focus Blue braille display

Office tasks

Special apps on smartphone

• Whatsapp

• IBlinkradio

• Daisy book reader

• Moneyreader

• Air carrier apps

• Ariadne GPS

Expectations and opportunities

To perform in my job, I need:

• Reliable tools

The best assistive hard- and software

• Up to date knowledge

Good training on your assistive technology is a must

Job opportunities

• In a digital world you can compete with a sighted

colleague

Statistics

Data from a project of the University in Maastricht, the

Netherlands.

• Factors Related to the Employment of visually Impaired

Persons: A Systematic Literature Review, by Yvonne H.

H. Goertz, Brigitte A. G. van Lierop, Inge Houkes and

Frans J. N. Nijhuis

• Global Employment rate between 33 and 42%

• Netherlands 36.8%

• Minimum 12 hours work week

Statistics

Blind and Visually Impaired Adult Rehabilitation and

Employment Survey: Final Results

• By Edward C. Bell, Ph.D. and Natalia M. Mino

• Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., serves as director of the

Professional Development and Research Institute on

Blindness, Louisiana Tech University.

• 37 % of the visually impaired population is achieving

competitive employment

Dutch situation

Funding • Government funding for study and work

• Health ensurance funding for private situation

Job re-integration policy • No risk policy, Government will pay for the salary in case the

employee won’t be able to perform his/her job due to the disability

• Salary subsidy, what will add the salary to the national minimum, if the employer can not

• Mobility policy, to fund special actions necessary for the job. For example a job coach or special software custimizations

• New law with minimum number of staff, employers have to pay a penalty if they fail to employ a fixed number of people with disabilities

Summary for success

• Skills of blindness

• Orientation and mobility skills

• Braille and assistive technology skills

• Personal attitude

• Quality of assistive and technical tools

• Technical support and service

• Family support

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

QUESTIONS?