School leaver employment supports
Getting ready for open employment
Jobsupport Transition is a highly successful work experience program that helps school leavers with significant intellectual disability (≤IQ60) aiming to get a paid job in open employment.
This support is funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES).
Jobsupport Transition helps:
- Increase your confidence to attempt a job in open employment through work experience
- Overcome barriers that may be preventing you entering open employment
- Make an informed choice about work
- Identify strategies, supports and settings that will give you the best opportunity for success in open employment
Four features of Jobsupport Transition
Real work settings
The best place to learn about work is in the workplace. Classroom courses are not effective for preparing people with significant intellectual disability for employment because they have difficulty applying what they learn to new settings.
Jobsupport Transition uses long-term work experience placements set up to be as much like paid jobs as possible.
Each person receives individualised training and support from a staff member based at each work site.
Training to achieve your transition goals
We use Individual Transition Planning to:
- identify your skills and interests,
- identify barriers that may be holding you back from successful employment, and
- target training at achieving your transition goals.
We will place you at a work site that fits with your interests and goals. This ensures that support fits your individual needs to experience a ‘shot of success’ to build your confidence and motivation for work.
Our focus on individual goals and barriers means that we are able to move participants into paid employment faster than a set training program.
Although support is available for up to two years, most participants achieve paid employment earlier, some within the first year of their support program.
The use of skilled and experienced staff
University-accredited training is provided to Jobsupport staff.
Jobsupport Transition managers have worked in Jobsupport’s open employment service and have direct experience of placing and maintaining people with intellectual disability in open employment.
This skill and experience helps managers and staff identify what is most important for you to become ready to move into a job in open employment, and help you set the most appropriate transition goals.
Link with Jobsupport’s open employment service
When you meet your transition goals you are ready to begin open employment.
Jobsupport Transition links you with Jobsupport’s Open Employment service.
The benefits of this link includes;
- ideas sharing and updates on your progress,
- getting regular information on the challenges and opportunities available in the employment marketplace,
- the ability to advise and advocate for participants as they move into open employment, and
- access to high quality job search, job training and support that will continue throughout your working life.
Jobsupport Transition Outcomes
The NSW Government publishes open employment outcome results achieved by NSW Transition to Work (TTW) providers. Results have been published for 2004 to 2013 school leavers commencing in NSW TTW.
Jobsupport has placed the highest number of school leavers in open employment (331) and has the highest open employment outcome rate (65.2%) in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Although open employment is our goal, some people do not achieve this within the two-year funding period. Jobsupport Transition has assisted some of these clients to access supported employment or day activity programs.
Jobsupport Transition works to ensure that no one is left without suitable support at the end of their School Leaver Employment Support funding.
