{"id":739,"date":"2021-01-08T00:41:14","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T00:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/tpi\/2021\/01\/08\/setting-our-students-up-for-long-term-success\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T23:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:20:08","slug":"setting-our-students-up-for-long-term-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/tpi\/2021\/01\/08\/setting-our-students-up-for-long-term-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting our Students up for Long"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Rachel Wiegand, Amy Jane Griffiths<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

Imagine a former student with a disability arriving at her newly earned place of employment. As a member of her Transition-Focused IEP Team, you, your student, and all stakeholders collaborated extensively to ensure that her transition plan met her needs, suited her interests, and aligned to her long term goals. These efforts are reaffirmed as her first day unfolds–she arrives at a workplace she is familiar with, for a position she wanted and is prepared to fulfill.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

But what happens if the career path that we encourage her to pursue is not sustainable? What happens if six months, two years, or six years down the line, the job that she tirelessly trained and prepared for no longer exists?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As the working world around us continues to evolve, so do the ways we prepare our students for the future. According to some estimates, 85% of the jobs students will be hired for in the year 2030 have yet to be invented (Institute for the Future & Dell Technologies, 2017). Despite these realities, there is currently limited research on how we ensure our students with disabilities have sustainable career paths in our rapidly evolving workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n

While our field has made strides in readying students for post-secondary life, employment rates continue to highlight the need to prioritize transition planning that will lead to more successful post-graduation employment (BLS, 2018a). In the United States, 68% of individuals without disabilities participate in the workforce versus 21% of individuals with disabilities (BLS, 2018a). Regardless of age, a person with a disability is less likely to secure employment than a typical peer. Overall, the outlook for persons with disabilities related to employment continues to trail significantly behind those without disabilities (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2018a).<\/span><\/p>\n

In this study, the authors consider how to integrate labor market data into Transition-Focused Individualized Education Programs (TF-IEP) by providing a brief analysis of the most in-demand skills and jobs in Orange County, California, and the United States, and six steps on how to integrate this data into the planning process.<\/span><\/p>\n

High-Demand Skills & In-Demand Jobs<\/b><\/p>\n

To better understand the relationship between supply and demand of various skills, we compared how often employers listed skills in job postings to skills that are prominent in today’s labor force. This resulted in a dataset consisting of over 100 million resumes and profiles, with job posting information. The skills represented in this set of applicant profiles include individuals with a diverse range of experience and education (Walrod & Walrod, 2018).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Skills were categorized as either “hard” skills, which are more tailored to specific jobs, and\u00a0 “common” skills, which are broader skills that are not typically job-specific. The top 10 in-demand hard and common skills are listed in Figure 1. Beside each skill, the percentage indicates the discrepancy between supply (number of prospective applicants who list this skill) and demand (number of employer listings soliciting the skill). In each skill area, demand exceeds supply.\u00a0 The higher the number, the greater the discrepancy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Figure 1. High Demand Skills <\/b><\/span>
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With these skills in mind, individuals with disabilities, and the educators who work alongside them, may begin to create a more robust TF-IEP that is geared toward more long-term career sustainability<\/span><\/p>\n

To effectively assist students in planning for resilient and sustainable futures, it is also helpful to have information on in-demand jobs.\u00a0 Figure 2 reflects the top five most available jobs in the United States in the last two years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Figure 2. In-Demand Jobs<\/b><\/p>\n

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Figure 3 shows projected job growth, calculated by evaluating the percentage change in the most common careers across the next ten years in the most common careers. This chart includes data for the United States, California, and Orange County to illustrate similarities and differences by region. Once a clear picture of current and future labor market needs is established, educational professionals can use this information to follow a six-step transition planning process in developing TF-IEPs that better emphasize long-term career sustainability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Figure 3. Projected Job Growth<\/b><\/p>\n

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Six Steps to Crafting Transition-Focused IEPs<\/b><\/p>\n

Step 1 – Strategies for assessment of strengths and needs<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The first step in crafting a TF-IEP is to assess the student’s strengths and needs while also considering the area’s current labor market needs. This step includes identifying and evaluating both hard skills and common skills based on the learner’s potential career interests.\u00a0 Questions to consider throughout this step include:<\/span><\/p>\n