If the vocational expert cannot identify any occupation that will provide the individual with substantial gainful activity, the individual may become eligible for social security disability benefits. Consequently social security vocational experts must be proficient with transferable skills analyses, hob analyses and labor market surveys.

The vocational expert must have an in depth knowledge of the near by job market to determine whether individual could reasonably be expected to secure employment in his or her geographical locale. Additionally the vocational expert must also be knowledgeable in understanding information about functional limitations and physical restrictions. The vocational evidence, provided by a vocational expert, establishes that the individual cannot perform substantial gainful activity in jobs existing in significant numbers in several regions of the country.

Rehabilitation counselors may also be used as expert witnesses in lawsuits filed by individuals whose disability claims have been denied. As an expert witness, they are often required to render opinions regarding the needs of individuals with disabilities in civil courts. Rehabilitation counselors’ combined knowledge of disability, vocational evaluation, loss of earning capacity assessment and rehabilitation principles ideally position them to serve as expert witnesses in such cases.