Vocational rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation, service designed for persons, usually 16 years of age and older, with mental and/or physical handicaps, to become employable. The three components of vocational rehabilitation are rehabilitation counseling, vocational evaluation, and job placement. Specialists in each of these areas work as a team, matching job skills and performance against standards in a career field. In the United States, vocational rehabilitation first developed in the late 1800s to assist disabled veterans. In Canada, the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act of 1961 established vocational rehabilitation guidelines. Counselors in vocational rehabilitation are usually required to have a bachelor's degree and preferably a master's degree with a concentration in counseling, human relations, industrial psychology, statistics, and testing.