Visually impaired offered opportunities at job fair

For the third consecutive year, the commonwealth’s major blindness organizations are sponsoring a unique job fair at the Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study. The 2013 Job Fair for Individuals with Visual Impairments will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday in Radcliffe’s Knafel Center/Gymnasium, 10 Garden St., Cambridge.

Job-ready individuals who are blind or visually impaired can connect with Massachusetts’ businesses — public, private, and nonprofit — that are seeking qualified employees. The job fair is expected to draw as many as 100 job seekers to the Radcliffe Institute.

Roughly 30 of the state’s largest employers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard, Hyatt Hotels, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority, MIT, TD Bank, T.J.Maxx, and the Oak Square YMCA will be on hand.

The job fair will give well-prepared candidates with vision impairments an opportunity to  learn about local employers and, more important, for potential employers to learn about the many outstanding skills any one of these candidates can bring to the right job. Employers will get expert advice on simple, cost-effective workplace accommodations for people with impaired vision, as well as tips on how to interact with someone who is blind. In addition, specialty and mainstream technologies and devices that enable employees with vision loss to succeed on the job will be showcased at the job fair. Experts will be on hand to demonstrate hardware and software solutions and explain the wide range of adaptations and services available to employers.

At the 2012 job fair, Richard Curtis from State Street Corp., a Boston-based investment management firm, was impressed by the quality of candidates he met. “This is a fantastic event,” he said. “You should get the word out about how successful this is.” State Street Corp. is returning for the 2013 event.

The job fair is open to employers that have full- or part-time employment opportunities at any level. The event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, the Carroll Center for the Blind, MAB Community Services, Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, National Braille Press, and Perkins School for the Blind.