Trainee Habilitation Specialist
| Posting date: | 18 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £24,500 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 12 April 2026 |
| Location: | South East England, UK |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Guide Dogs for the Blind |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
Location & travel requirements
This is an office‑based (Reading), home‑Start role working 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday. Daily travel across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire is required, so a full UK driving licence or Access to Work support for travel is essential.
We’re here to support people with sight loss, starting right from their early years. As the largest single employer of Habilitation Specialists in the UK, we work with hundreds of children and young people, with vision impairment, every year - helping them build their skills and confidence to explore the world.
You could change lives by supporting children and young people with a vision impairment to develop their mobility, orientation and independent life skills.
What is a Habilitation Specialist?
A Habilitation Specialist supports children and young people, aged from birth up to 25 years, to become as independent as possible in their day-to-day lives.
This involves teaching them how to move around safely and confidently, as well as independent living skills to use at home, school or in the wider world. This ranges from supporting physical development in their early years to navigating streets safely, preparing food, handling money, using technology and managing their self-care routines as they grow older.
As a Trainee Habilitation Specialist, you will be joining one of our well-established Habilitation teams who support children and young people with a vision impairment in a wide range of settings. This will provide you with the opportunity to observe, practice and start to develop your own understanding, knowledge, and skills.
In addition to the practical elements, you will also be studying for professionally recognised qualifications at Birmingham City University
Traineeship and Role Requirements
Qualifications
GCSE at grade 4 or above at English Language (or equivalent e.g. GCSE grade C, key skills level 2, adult literacy level 2 or CSE grade 1 will be accepted).
Plus one of the following:
Level 3 NVQ/SVQ 6 or Diploma or equivalent (full award)
2 or more A-Levels/Highers (DD/48 UCAS tariff points) or a BTEC ordinary National Diploma
Level 2 NVQ/SVQ 5 or Diploma (full award) plus a written paper (details of content will be provided by the admissions tutor post application)
5 GCSE/Standard /Grade/National 5 passes at grade 4 (grade C) or above plus a written paper (details of content will be provided by the admissions tutor post application).
The candidate pack contains more information about this role, the recruitment process and more detail relating to the learning elements of this role at Guide Dogs.
For the complete list of essential and desirable criteria necessary to be successful in this role please see the Person Specification within the Job Description.
Information Session
Guide Dogs Trainee Habilitation Specialist Recruitment Information Session – Monday 23rd March at 6.30pm.
We’d love for you to join us for an information session all about the role of a Trainee Habilitation Specialist vacancies. It will provide an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and the training pathway to qualification.
Register for the session by following this link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d8773279-5b07-4077-a5f0-93647b0f1539@cb3bcfb5-16c9-4fd2-851a-82287749c564
Assessment dates
Should you be shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview which will take place during the week commencing 13 April.
The successful candidate will be required to attend a further assessment day at Birmingham City University on 9 June.
Start date
If you are successful, the role is scheduled to start on 16th August 2026.
This is an office‑based (Reading), home‑Start role working 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday. Daily travel across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire is required, so a full UK driving licence or Access to Work support for travel is essential.
We’re here to support people with sight loss, starting right from their early years. As the largest single employer of Habilitation Specialists in the UK, we work with hundreds of children and young people, with vision impairment, every year - helping them build their skills and confidence to explore the world.
You could change lives by supporting children and young people with a vision impairment to develop their mobility, orientation and independent life skills.
What is a Habilitation Specialist?
A Habilitation Specialist supports children and young people, aged from birth up to 25 years, to become as independent as possible in their day-to-day lives.
This involves teaching them how to move around safely and confidently, as well as independent living skills to use at home, school or in the wider world. This ranges from supporting physical development in their early years to navigating streets safely, preparing food, handling money, using technology and managing their self-care routines as they grow older.
As a Trainee Habilitation Specialist, you will be joining one of our well-established Habilitation teams who support children and young people with a vision impairment in a wide range of settings. This will provide you with the opportunity to observe, practice and start to develop your own understanding, knowledge, and skills.
In addition to the practical elements, you will also be studying for professionally recognised qualifications at Birmingham City University
Traineeship and Role Requirements
Qualifications
GCSE at grade 4 or above at English Language (or equivalent e.g. GCSE grade C, key skills level 2, adult literacy level 2 or CSE grade 1 will be accepted).
Plus one of the following:
Level 3 NVQ/SVQ 6 or Diploma or equivalent (full award)
2 or more A-Levels/Highers (DD/48 UCAS tariff points) or a BTEC ordinary National Diploma
Level 2 NVQ/SVQ 5 or Diploma (full award) plus a written paper (details of content will be provided by the admissions tutor post application)
5 GCSE/Standard /Grade/National 5 passes at grade 4 (grade C) or above plus a written paper (details of content will be provided by the admissions tutor post application).
The candidate pack contains more information about this role, the recruitment process and more detail relating to the learning elements of this role at Guide Dogs.
For the complete list of essential and desirable criteria necessary to be successful in this role please see the Person Specification within the Job Description.
Information Session
Guide Dogs Trainee Habilitation Specialist Recruitment Information Session – Monday 23rd March at 6.30pm.
We’d love for you to join us for an information session all about the role of a Trainee Habilitation Specialist vacancies. It will provide an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and the training pathway to qualification.
Register for the session by following this link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d8773279-5b07-4077-a5f0-93647b0f1539@cb3bcfb5-16c9-4fd2-851a-82287749c564
Assessment dates
Should you be shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview which will take place during the week commencing 13 April.
The successful candidate will be required to attend a further assessment day at Birmingham City University on 9 June.
Start date
If you are successful, the role is scheduled to start on 16th August 2026.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.