Topic 1.4: When to Start Pre-Employment Transition Services?

Pre-ETS start at age 14 (Ends at age 22) if the student has: 

  • expressed an interest in exploring employment opportunities 
  • an interest in visiting a variety of career clusters 
  • a need for independent living and social skills training 
  • Does the student have time in their schedule to leave school? 
  • There are no assessing skills or focusing in on one career cluster that is of interest…all about exposure and experiences. 

Students should be honest about their interests, as employment is what they will do for much of their time, for most of their life. Even if an interest may not seem like it matches up with a job, it is an important starting point that can lead to exploration possibilities as described below. 

  1. Interview Students to Determine Interests/Past Experiences 
  • Too often we try to persuade students to follow a certain path because of what we see in their skill set. However, it is important to talk to students before searching for employment to see what they have enjoyed doing in the past. The more we understand about a student’s positive experiences, the more likely we will be able to determine the likelihood of success in the future. This process is different than a formal assessment or evaluation. This should simply be a conversation in a question-and-answer format that allows the student to express their likes and dislikes and what has worked before. For instance, if they talk a lot about going to movies and how much they enjoy it, we start thinking about a job in that industry. It could be as simple as an usher or ticket taker at a theatre, all the way up to a myriad of jobs at a local television station. However, if we do not give the student an opportunity to speak about things they have enjoyed in the past, we cannot determine what could be a motivating factor for success in employment. Another advantage to this type of conversation is that it could be a student’s first opportunity to be interviewed and to start an understanding of how important these types of conversations are when speaking to an employer. 
  1. Complete Job Interest Surveys/Assessment  

Vocational Evaluation:  KY Administrative Regulations: 

2) By the child’s 16th birthday, the IEP (Individualized Education Program) shall include:  
(a) Appropriate, measurable, postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments, related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and  
(b) The transition services (including the course of study) are needed to assist the child in reaching these goals.  
(3) Transition services for children with disabilities may be special education if provided as specially designed instruction or related services, and if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.  

  • While still in high school, students should receive a comprehensive assessment to determine vocational interests, capacities, and abilities. This type of assessment is called a vocational evaluation. The best way to obtain a vocational evaluation is to establish a relationship with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) as early as possible in a student’s academic career. An OVR counselor can provide the evaluation for eligible students. All services that are planned for and provided are individualized, determined jointly by the counselor and the student, and related to a specific vocational goal. You will get a more in-depth look at OVR in one of the next sections.