Duncan Rothery was recently diagnosed an eye condition known as Macular Degeneration which will eventually lead to the total loss of his sight. For Duncan, this meant he would no longer be able to work as a long distance lorry driver, an occupation in which he spent the last 25 years.

His local Job Centre was able to put him in touch with the RNIB College Loughborough who provide training to help blind and partially sighted adults acquire the skills that will help them to find employment and maintain their independence. Duncan began studying on a 6 month programme in July 2011 and rapidly built up IT skills that he has been able to put into practice during a work placement at Fisher Scientific in Loughborough. "The benefits that trainees can receive from work placements and industry expertise are invaluable. Employment can be difficult to obtain and this is often much harder for those with a disability," said Christina Skipper, skills development trainer at RNIB College Loughborough.

Using text-to-speech software, JAWS, Duncan is now able to work with any Microsoft application. He has been able to use his newly acquired Microsoft Excel skills to work in the Transportation office at Fisher Scientific. Working with the transportation team, Duncan supported Lisa Jackson in her role as Transport Administrator. Duncan recorded all the data collected by the track and trace software fitted to each Fisher Scientific lorry. He was also given a project to manage and implement which has enabled the transport office to monitor the efficiency of the lorry drivers. "It involves a large amount of IT and the work has to be accurate and meet very high standards. It feels good that I am trusted to work on things that are important to the company," said Duncan.

Read Duncan's blog about his time at the RNIB College.