Given the recent focus on the employability and earnings of university graduates in the UK, there is a need to explore the employability initiatives offered by higher education institutions (HEIs). Work placements and work experience offered through HEIs aim to improve students' job readiness, and ability to secure suitable jobs after graduation,…

Traditional high schools do not prepare students with disabilities to transition to employment after graduation as successfully as they prepare their peers without disabilities. Work experience can be a meaningful part of the transition process, though finding work placements in rural areas can be difficult. This qualitative study examined what…

Provides background on the job club process and how it can be used for integrated training of special needs and regular education students in need of job search assistance. Includes field test project information. (JOW)

The paper addresses the issue of access by disabled persons to the world of work, independence, and adulthood by defining the concept of least restrictive employment and presenting a framework for incorporating it into the public schools. Least restrictive employment is viewed as the placement of disabled youth in paid, integrated employment with…

The author reviews two studies relating to the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and its service to disabled individuals. Results showed that high school dropouts and welfare recipients are targeted often by the Service Delivery Areas and that 92 percent of the participants are economically disadvantaged. (CH)

Employment is one of the biggest contributors to quality of life for people with disabilities--and that means well-planned work experiences should be an integral part of transition preparation for every secondary and postsecondary school aged youth. Make that happen with this practical guide, developed to help educators, transition specialists,…

Discusses factors that contribute to the lack of success in delivering transition services to students with disabilities. Explores alternatives to existing practice, based on a service integration model focused on the point of transition. Also reviews the benefits and challenges to implementing such a model. (Author/CR)

In response to the critical need for alternative transitional services for the handicapped after formal schooling, the Montgomery County Job Training and Tryout Model was created to provide a job training and placement service for out-of-school people with disabilities. (SK)

A program developed at Hunter College of the City University of New York is designed to help handicapped students make a successful transition from school to work. The program provides students with unsubsidized short-term employment in the business sector and allows them to develop appropriate work habits and skills. Six program components are…

Key concepts in designing an individualized plan for transition include interagency cooperation and outcome-oriented plans. Examples of two mentally retarded workers illustrate the benefits of a supported work approach. (CL)

A successful transition program for individuals with disabilities uses a "train-place-train" concept, where vocational training is provided in school, followed by job placement, followed by on-the-job-training by a job coach who provides support until the employee can work independently. (JOW)

Part of a series, this preliminary report is on a meta-analysis study of successful and unsuccessful transition of handicapped youth from secondary education to postsecondary settings. The study had four major objectives: (1) to review annual progress reports of federally funded (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation) transition projects,…

Through an examination of the transition process used by a representative sample of successfully employed handicapped individuals in Florida, specific transition strategies and the degree to which they were used were identified. Fifty successfully employed handicapped individuals participated. The high school experience was cited as essential in…

The Special Education Vocational Education Program (SEVEP) is a program implemented by the Tucson Unified School District to bring area high school students with special needs together with cooperating employers. Eligible students are identified and pre-assessed regarding individual aptitudes, interests and needs. General instruction may include…

The authors describe the Job Training and Tryout model of school-to-work transition for disabled individuals. The four phases include (1) utilizing previous assessment data and developing individualized employment success plans, (2) employability skills training, (3) job placement, and (4) job change or advancement. (CH)