Planning the Transition to Employment

♡ All of us pass through a transition state from school to post-secondary education. During this transition, the student tend to find a work and get employed. The beauty of transition is that we have all the resources, agencies, organisations, and challenges.

♡ Transition is about possibilities. This is the time we should learn and explore by:
• starting with end in mind i.e. set a goal to reach
• Developing plan to get there through education and activities.

One should have high expectations and no limitations. For instance, a person shouldn't limit his challenges and abilities to one task; instead, he should explore and increase his limitations to do 6-7 tasks.

♡ If we really want to change the trajectory and criteria of employment, transition is the chance to do that. To start moving so that  employment  is the outcome, all students must be sure that all of them have the same opportunity to be accepted.

♡ Shifting from a "cooperating" model to a "collaborating" model of professional practice is a must for supporting transitions.

•  Where a small inter-professional team commits to working collectively to build and support a set of teaching and learning practices that produce effective transitions..
AND..
• Where each student is actively and consistently engaged in activities that build and support their sense of competence in making successful transitions ...


In addition, regarding collaboration as collective effort, five elements are needed to create and sustain success:

• A common agenda
• Mutually reinforcing activities
•  Continuous communication
• Shared measures of success
• A support structure

♡ Self-determination requires self-efficacy, where self-efficacy is the "sense of being capable" of actually doing what is expected of you. Self-determination differs between students where many young adults don't believe in themselves.  Here, the role of the educator is to support and enhance each student's experience of being capable of doing what is needed to make successful transitions. These are valuable strategies to follow:

1. "Modeling" what is expected
2. Providing "role-playing" activities
3. Providing "elaborated feedback" on their performance

♡ Person-centered planning is a process-oriented approach to empowering students disabilities. It focuses on the individual and their needs by putting them in charge of defining the direction for their lives and making their own choices. Thus, we must be conscious since we're building a person for a whole life.

♡ Positive  Personal Profile (PPP):
It's a method of "take inventory" of all youth traits that will be relevant to job search, employability, job matching, and long-term career development. We use it to collect information from variety of sources - such as interviews, assessments, and discussions. It can be used for :

• Developing resumes
•  Preparing for interviews
•  Developing goals for an individualized education plan
•  Determining further assessments or work experiences
• Determining which businesses to approach
• Developing "features" to "benefits"

Anybody can work. But, let's don't look at the disabilities. Let's look at talents, skills, and what a person can do. To achieve this way of thinking, you should take into consideration these few questions:

• What does student like and dislike?
•  What are their skills and interests?
•  How do they learn best?
• What supports are helpful?
• What assets do they bring?
• What opportunities do they have to prepare for and practice work?
•  What are their work environment preferences?
• What do they need to make connections to employers?

Moreover, work based learning leads to integrated employment. Thus, as much as the student's experiences increase during school - such as school-based enterprises and summer and after school employment- the chance of being accepted increases. These experiences promote awareness and exploration to become well-prepared for employment.

♡ There's something called "customized employment" in which jobs tasks are modified to suit both employer and employee. Employers always want to ear from us that we represent ..
•  Motivated candidates who are excited about working
• Our candidates have skills sets that add value to their workforce.
• We can assist with business solutions that improve the company's productivity and/or workflow.

Now, you're  employed. What if you have gaps?
Bridge  any gaps with training, supports, and accommodations through:

• Instructional strategies
• Natural supports and cues
• Technology
• Environmental modifications
• Compensatory strategies
• Employer negotiations

And Don't Forget to:

• Promote a work ethic
• Teach self-determination
• Include workplace culture - Teach work & work-related skills
• Open doors that enable youth to experience/practice what is expected of them in adult world

Finally, the last important rule: avoid using "yes, but.." since it represents negative bias. Instead, use "yes, and..".

Note: Here's  a useful tool for applying to jobs "ITAP" which refers to Implementing Transition Action Plan. You can fill the job application here: https://www.internationaltaphouse.com/application

Wish you have benefited from this Webinar ☺

Thank you for reading ❤'