Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA): Transition to work and career development

Reasons for the study

Persons with disabilities encounter barriers as they transition into work and advance within their careers. Disability scholarship and practice has increasingly focused on the school-to-work transition. Specifically, existing research tends to focus on the experience of obtaining entry-level positions and the barriers and facilitators to early stages of employment. Far less research exists on understanding the determinants to job quality (e.g., secure employment that meets career aspirations, offers competitive wages and provides opportunities for career growth) and the career success of persons with disabilities. We will conduct rapid reviews to identify and synthesize innovative school-to-work transition programs/practices/interventions that emphasize access to high-quality jobs and career success. We will also conduct a longitudinal qualitative study, interviewing young adults with episodic disabilities to examine their experiences and the role of supports and employers during the school-to-work transition and early working years.

Objectives of the study

Target audience

Canadian work disability policy system stakeholders, including injured worker/ disability community representatives, employers, policy-makers, disability program administrators, educators and service providers