Works for Everyone: Preparing Individuals with Disabilities for the Workplace

Individuals with disabilities following graduation from high school face increased difficulty securing employment, increased levels of poverty, lower independence, and lower overall quality of life. My Possibilities is a daily, yearlong continuing education and job placement program offering secondary education courses, independent living training, supported employment/vocational training, and health & wellness classes for individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental disabilities (IDD). The program outlined in this project involved collaborating with My Possibilities to develop pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) for individuals coming from high school into their offered courses to help aide in their transition. The results of the literature review conducted during this project demonstrated that Pre-ETS programming provides structure and promotes independence and therefore promotes employment and positive postsecondary outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Ultimately, this capstone project illustrates the positive impact that pre-employment transition services can have on individuals with disabilities on overall quality of life.