The HAUC Conference 2026 showed a sector thinking seriously about how street works affect blind and partially sighted people, disabled pedestrians and the wider public. That is progress worth acknowledging. But there is a second question the industry still has not answered — who is inside the teams planning and delivering these schemes? With 75% of blind and partially sighted people of working age out of employment in the UK, some of the most tenacious problem-solvers in the country are locked out of an industry that would benefit from their perspective.
A Sector Designing for Inclusion — But Hiring for Sameness
Huge thanks to the teams at HAUC UK and GeoPlace for another outstanding conference. The conversations around accessible site set-up, vulnerable road users and inclusive planning were genuinely useful.
What was not on the agenda — and rarely is — is the employment side of the same conversation. Inclusive design does not stop at the pavement. It extends to who is in the office, the planning meeting and the design review.
A Systemic Barrier, Not a Capability Gap
Around 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss. Three-quarters of those of working age are not in employment. That is not a reflection of capability. It is a reflection of hiring processes, workplace assumptions, and employers not knowing where to start.
When the barrier is systemic, the solution has to be deliberate.
Tenacity, Adaptability and Resilience as Business Assets
The street works, highways and utilities sector values resilience, attention to detail, methodical problem-solving and the ability to work under pressure. These are not occasional traits in blind and partially sighted professionals — they are daily requirements. Navigating a world that is not built for you builds a kind of operational sharpness that is hard to train for and impossible to fake.
Roles we regularly see blind and partially sighted candidates excel in include:
- Planning, scheduling and coordination
- Customer service and stakeholder engagement
- Policy, compliance and quality assurance
- Data analysis and reporting
- Training, communications and operational support
I’ve worked with highways and utilities teams who design brilliant accessible schemes — and then staff them with the same profile of person they always have. Real inclusion means opening the office as well as the pavement.
— Seema Flower, Founder and Managing Director, Blind Ambition
Access to Work: The Support Most Employers Don’t Know About
One of the most common reasons employers hesitate to hire blind and partially sighted candidates is uncertainty about cost and adjustments. That hesitation is almost always based on an information gap, not a real barrier.
Access to Work is a government scheme that can fund:
- Assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnification
- Support worker hours for specific tasks
- Travel to and from work where public transport is not accessible
- Workplace assessments and reasonable adjustments
In most cases, the cost to the employer of making a role accessible is far smaller than assumed — and far outweighed by the value the right candidate brings.
What Employers Gain
Employers who recruit inclusively do not just fill a vacancy. They gain a perspective their design teams and operational planners do not currently have — a lived understanding of what happens when inclusion is ignored, and what it takes to get it right. That perspective sharpens decisions from site design through to customer communications, and strengthens the same agenda HAUC and GeoPlace champion from the top down.
Be Part of the Solution — Post a Role
If you came away from HAUC 2026 thinking about what the next practical step looks like for your organisation, posting a role through Blind Ambition Recruitment is one of them. You will reach a pool of talented, screened candidates ready to contribute, and we will support you and your hiring managers through the process — including guidance on Access to Work and reasonable adjustments.
The Takeaway
Building inclusive streets and inclusive teams is the same conversation. The sectors that lead on one should lead on both. Post a role today at recruitment.blindambition.co.uk or contact recruitment-ops@blindambition.co.uk.
About Blind Ambition Recruitment
Blind Ambition Recruitment connects employers with blind and partially sighted talent. Post your job today at recruitment.blindambition.co.uk or contact recruitment-ops@blindambition.co.uk
