What does a vocational specialist do?
Vocational Specialists are responsible for assisting individuals in finding out their career choices. They interview clients to assess their skills, job history, and personality. Their duties include matching a client's education, training, interests, and experiences to an available job position. They organize aptitude tests to assist the client make career options. They also help with résumé preparation or modification, maintaining client records, arranging reports, and correspondence. Vocal Specialists give support for individuals in times of layoffs or job losses.
Vocational specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real vocational specialist resumes:
- Conduct therapeutic and vocational rehabilitation groups for individuals who are diagnosed with a severe mental illness.
- Facilitate vocational rehabilitation groups weekly.
- Conduct initial interviews with individuals to determine if the situation warrant further investigation by EEO Specialists/investigators.
- Document all activities including rationale for decisions in accordance with DARS policies and procedures.
- Assist clients preparing to transition with housing applications and or locating low income and or affordable housing.
- Facilitate vocational rehabilitation groups weekly.
Vocational specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Vocational Specialists are proficient in Rehabilitation, Social Work, and Crisis Intervention. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Listening skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Vocational Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Rehabilitation, 14%
Networked with other service providers and workforce development programs such as Vocational Rehabilitation through the state of Arizona.
- Social Work, 11%
Communicated effectively with coworkers, employers, social workers, parents and other Interdisciplinary team members.
- Crisis Intervention, 7%
Assisted in crisis intervention while rehabilitating client to become a productive member of mainstream society through offered comprehensive support and training.
- Substance Abuse, 6%
Assist individuals with psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis in developing independent living skills.
- Competitive Employment, 5%
Identify clients' strengths, limitations, and need for accommodations in order to successfully attain and maintain competitive employment.
- Vocational Rehabilitation, 5%
Provided seminars to Vocational Rehabilitation/Community Outreach Organizations.
"rehabilitation," "social work," and "crisis intervention" are among the most common skills that vocational specialists use at work. You can find even more vocational specialist responsibilities below, including:
Speaking skills. One of the key soft skills for a vocational specialist to have is speaking skills. You can see how this relates to what vocational specialists do because "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." Additionally, a vocational specialist resume shows how vocational specialists use speaking skills: "presented agency informationto clients and community agencies. "
Listening skills. Many vocational specialist duties rely on listening skills. "school and career counselors and advisors need to give full attention to students and clients in order to understand their problems.," so a vocational specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways vocational specialist responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated in writing by preparing reports and summaries describing a veteran's status through case documentation and writing rehabilitation plans. "
Analytical skills. vocational specialists are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to vocational specialist responsibilities, because "school and career counselors and advisors interpret student records, schoolwide data, and assessments to match interests and abilities with potential careers. ." A vocational specialist resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "job development, career planning, job analysis, evaluation of transferable skills and expert witness. "
Compassion. vocational specialist responsibilities often require "compassion." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "school and career counselors and advisors often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be able to empathize with their clients and students." This resume example shows what vocational specialists do with compassion on a typical day: "use of knowledge and experience to compassionately and professionally serve people who are receiving treatment for mental health and co-occurring disorders. "
Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a vocational specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what vocational specialists relies on this skill, since "school and career counselors and advisors must be able to work with people of all backgrounds and personalities." How this skill relates to vocational specialist duties can be seen in an example from a vocational specialist resume snippet: "utilized customer service/interpersonal skills by building relationships with area employers to create employment opportunities for clients. "
The three companies that hire the most vocational specialists are:
- Easter Seals Southern California6 vocational specialists jobs
- Burrell Behavioral Health5 vocational specialists jobs
- Vinfen5 vocational specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable vocational specialist resume templates
Build a professional vocational specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your vocational specialist resume.
Compare different vocational specialists
Vocational specialist vs. Outreach worker
An outreach worker is responsible for supporting community events and relief efforts to assist citizens with their needs, providing them resources, and facilitating lifestyle programs. Outreach workers coordinate with participants, suppliers, and sponsors for funding and promotions. They also manage the budgeting and allocation of resources for the programs, ensuring that the activities adhere to the state regulations and community benefits. An outreach worker must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing progress reports and transactions.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a vocational specialist are more likely to require skills like "rehabilitation," "competitive employment," "vocational rehabilitation," and "cpr." On the other hand, a job as an outreach worker requires skills like "patients," "community outreach," "mental illness," and "referral services." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Outreach workers really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $53,625. Comparatively, vocational specialists tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $39,173.outreach workers tend to reach lower levels of education than vocational specialists. In fact, outreach workers are 11.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Vocational specialist vs. Youth mentor
Youth mentors are adult individuals who are responsible for creating programs to improve the well-being of young people by providing role models that can support them academically and socially. These mentors must educate the community on issues related to mental health while making regular home visits to youth and young adults. They should provide direct care and assistance to adolescents who are with substance abuse issues by creating an educational curriculum on the said topic. Youth mentors are also required to collaborate with mental health professionals and social workers to coordinate counseling efforts.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real vocational specialist resumes. While vocational specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "rehabilitation," "competitive employment," "vocational rehabilitation," and "vocational assessments," youth mentors use skills like "eating disorders," "academic support," "role model," and "youth development."
On average, youth mentors earn a lower salary than vocational specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, youth mentors earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $32,145. Whereas vocational specialists have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $39,173.youth mentors earn lower levels of education than vocational specialists in general. They're 15.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for vocational specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Yan Ciupak Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Northern Michigan University
Vocational specialist vs. Youth counselor
A Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a vocational specialist is likely to be skilled in "rehabilitation," "competitive employment," "vocational rehabilitation," and "vocational assessments," while a typical youth counselor is skilled in "necessary paperwork," "behavioral issues," "emergency first aid," and "direct supervision."
Youth counselors earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $38,048. Vocational specialists earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $39,173.When it comes to education, youth counselors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to vocational specialists. In fact, they're 14.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Vocational specialist vs. Family support worker
A family service worker is a social service agent who assesses the needs of family and promotes wellbeing, social justice, and human rights through governmental and social service agencies. Family service workers offer services that can include counseling and mediation to families that will help them navigate the protocols of the social system. They act as liaisons between families facing problems and different government organizations. Family service workers also ensure that families in need are getting the benefits they are entitled to, as well as help them access various community resources.
Types of vocational specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
