Young Workers with Disabilities: Navigating the Transition from Education to Employment
The Transition Gap
The transition from education to employment is one of the most critical and vulnerable periods for young people with disabilities:
- England: Only 6% of adults with a learning disability known to their local authority are in paid work (Department of Health and Social Care data, 2025, as reported by Mencap)
- EU: In 2024, 20.6% of young people aged 15–29 with some disability and 54.7% of those with a severe disability were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), compared with 10.0% of young people without a disability (Eurostat)
Supported Internships (England)
Supported internships are structured study programmes for young people aged 16–24 with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. Key features:
- The intern spends around 70% of their time in the workplace and 30% in their school or college
- Internships last a minimum of 6 months, and up to a year
- A job coach provides tailored support to both the intern and the employer, gradually fading as the intern develops independence
- The measure of success is a transition to sustained, paid employment
What Makes Them Work
- Employer buy-in and genuine workplace integration
- Qualified job coaches with employer relationship skills
- Student-centred placement matching
- Gradual fading of support as skills develop
- Partnership between education providers, employers, and families
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships provide structured on-the-job training combined with formal learning:
Disabled Apprentices in England
- Learning support funding: Training providers can claim learning support funding to cover the costs of reasonable adjustments an apprentice needs to complete their apprenticeship
- Access to Work: If an apprentice needs help at work itself, they may be able to get help from Access to Work, which can fund equipment, support workers such as a job coach, and travel costs
- English and maths flexibility: Where a learning difficulty or disability is a barrier to meeting the usual English and maths requirements, apprentices with an EHC plan (or an equivalent evidenced assessment) can be offered the flexibility to achieve Entry Level 3 functional skills instead
- Disability Confident employers have committed to improving how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people — a useful signal when choosing where to apply
US
- Registered Apprenticeships through the Department of Labor are open to people with disabilities
Vocational Rehabilitation (US)
State VR agencies provide employment support for young people with disabilities:
- Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS): Five required activities — job exploration counselling, work-based learning experiences (including internships), counselling on post-secondary education options, workplace readiness training, and instruction in self-advocacy (which may include peer mentoring). Students with disabilities can receive them even before applying or being found eligible for the VR programme
- Job placement and coaching: VR counsellors coordinate employer connections and on-the-job support
- Assistive technology: An individual plan for employment may include assistive technology devices and services
Mentoring Programmes
Mentoring is a valuable support for young disabled workers:
- Formal mentoring: Structured programmes pairing young employees with experienced disabled professionals
- Peer mentoring: Connecting with other young disabled workers for shared experience
- Reverse mentoring: Young workers mentor senior leaders on disability and inclusion perspectives
Key Programmes
- Change 100 (UK): Paid summer internships, professional development and mentoring for university students and recent graduates with any disability or long-term condition. Created by Leonard Cheshire, it has been run by Ability Pathways (Ingeus) since 15 November 2025
- Disability:IN NextGen Leaders (US): A six-month virtual programme of one-on-one mentorship and learning sessions for students, recent graduates, veterans and early-career professionals with disabilities
- Career Ready (UK): A social mobility charity offering mentoring, a paid internship, masterclasses and workplace visits to young people aged 15–18 from under-represented backgrounds
Resources
- NDTI (National Development Team for Inclusion): ndti.org.uk
- Disability Rights UK: disabilityrightsuk.org
- Preparing for Adulthood: ndti.org.uk/programme/preparing-for-adulthood
- US Department of Labor ODEP: dol.gov/agencies/odep
- Change 100: ingeus.co.uk/services/change-100
- Supported internships guidance: gov.uk/supported-internships
- Disability Confident: gov.uk/disability-confident