Jon Schorsch: Monster.com Makes Changes to Assist Blind Job Seekers

Jon Schorsch served the Port of Seattle Police Department for 13 years before a boating accident took his sight. He currently works with the National Federation of the Blind as a self-defense instructor. Additionally, Jon Schorsch serves as a Mediator with Volunteers of America Snohomish in the organization’s Dispute Resolution Center.

Working with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and the National Federation of the Blind, the job employment website, Monster.com, announced that it was initiating a plan to make the site more accessible and useful for members of the community who are blind. Currently, the unemployment rate for individuals who are blind is at the staggering figure of about 70 percent. In an effort to help reduce this figure, Monster will begin to offer text-to-speech or Braille services that will allow for sightless navigation of the postings on the website. The goal is to have the site and its profiles completely accessible within two years.

Along with this commitment, Monster.com has stated that it would train its customer service department to assist blind users, and that it would work in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind to encourage institutions of higher education to incorporate technology design components or courses that would attend to special-needs users.