Good vision is an essential tool for personal and professional development. To give young people exploring their future options a good start, Essilor volunteers were on hand to give advice and provide eye screening for over a thousand individuals at a recent two-day employment, training and advice fair in the Paris region.
The two-day event aimed to help more than 11,000 young people aged 16-25 discover jobs offers, work experience or further training thanks to the participation of hundreds of public and private sector companies and organizations. This year, for the first time, vision care was included as an important issue in the preparation of young people for their future.
The initiative has enabled Essilor to begin discussions with key health and education bodies on future local projects focused on good vision for learning.
Poor vision can significantly impact an individual’s education and life chances. 80% of what young people learn in training is acquired through visual processing of information. In today’s working environments, most jobs require a combination of far sight, near sight and good eye-hand coordination. Uncorrected vision problems contribute to under-achievement and consequently reduce future employment opportunities a young person can aspire to.
As part of the ‘Route to success’ area, Essilor Vision for Life organised a special vision health stand where volunteers provided free eye tests and advice on taking care of their vision. Over the two days 1164 people were screened, including the French Minister for Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Minister for Work Myriam El Kohmri. More than 30% of those screened were found to have problems with their vision.
The initiative has enabled Essilor to begin discussions with key health and education bodies on future local projects focused on good vision for learning.
”It was a very nice surprise to find this resource for eye screening and information,” commented one of the young people who benefited from the help of Essilor volunteers. “On my own, I would not have thought about or had the opportunity to have my eyes screened. Here I had access to all the information I need to take care of my eyes, now and for the future.”