Toward the Development of a Second Generation Computerized Job-Matching System for Persons with Disabilities: A Conceptual Framework (1992)

The rapid development of integrated circuit technology has enabled computer manufacturers to condense the main component of the computer, the central processing unit (cpu), into a very inexpensive silicon chip smaller than a postage stamp (Restak, 1980). This technological breakthrough has resulted in a proliferation of low-cost but powerful mini-computer and microcomputer systems that can perform complex data processing and computing functions which once required costly large mainframe computer systems. The same technology has also facilitated the development of super performance mainframe computers. These computers have made possible telecommunications, computer networks, office automation, and distributed processing systems (Synnott & Gruber, 1981). The widespread availability of computer telecommunication technology to the general public is changing the way American workers prepare for and perform their jobs. Naisbitt (1982) stated that the United States is moving rapidly from a manufacture-based to an information-based and service-based economy. The field of rehabilitation is not, nor should it be, insulated from these developments. According to a recent national survey of the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (Menz & Bordieri, 1986), training in computers in information management is one of the categories ranked by rehabilitation facilities administrators and managers as having the greatest need for training. In response to this, rehabilitation professionals must learn to take advantage of, and adapt to, this new information technology. For the past few years, numerous descriptions and discussions of computer applications were published in professional journals in areas such as rehabilitation counseling, vocational evaluation, adjustment, and job placement (Buckhead & Sampson, 1985; Chan, McCollum, & Parker, 1985; Chan, Matkin, Parker, & McCollum, 1988; Chan & Questad, 1981; Crimado & Goodley, 1985; McCollum & Chan, 1985). Computerized Job Matching-Systems One of the primary uses of microcomputer technology in rehabilitation has been in the area of For example, in a recent review of computerized job-matching software, Botterbusch (1986) identified more than 15 major commercial software packages available to rehabilitation professionals. The proliferation of these software programs can be partially attributed to the long standing emphasis of job placement in rehabilitation. According to Dunn (1974), the quality of job placement of each client is determined early in the exploration and planning phases of the vocational rehabilitation process. To facilitate vocational decision-making, a rehabilitation client must be exposed systematically to the of work, develop insights for skills, abilities, interest and physical limitations, and be sensitive to labor market constraints. This, in turn, requires the skilled rehabilitation counselor to become knowledgeable about (a) the vocational implications of a variety of disabilities, (b) the demands and requirements of different occupations, (c) the job trends and training opportunities in the local and national labor economy, and (d) the development and availability of job accommodation methods and assistive devices for people with disabilities (Roessler & Rubin, 1982). The time and energy required for manually keeping up with the sophisticated and ever-changing of information is overwhelming. Computerized job-matching system were designed, to a large extent, to alleviate the counselor from those most time consuming tasks of collecting and retrieving up-to-date occupational data. As a result, these system have gained wide acceptance among professionals in the rehabilitation community (Chan McCollum, & Pool, 1985). Specifically, a computerized job-matching system is a computer software program that is capable of systematically comparing an individual's employability profile (vocational strengths and weaknesses) against the requirements of a job, a cluster of closely related jobs, or a training program in a world of work data base (Botterbush, 1986). …