The transition of young people with learning disabilities to employment: What works?

Significant barriers have been identified in the transition from school and college to employment among young persons with learning disabilities (LD), though factors that appear to facilitate that transition have been also been identified. The current paper examines the transition from school of 87 young people with LD, with interviews occurring both in their last year of school and six months post graduation. The study also reports on the vocational advice given to students with LD by schools/colleges and external transition support organizations in their last year of school. Differences in the type of activity offered were found for schools/colleges and the external transition support providers. Logistic regression analyses revealed that work experience provided by the external support organizations, as well as work awareness training provided by schools/ colleges were significantly related to subsequent employment. Implications for transition practice are discussed