Moving from school to work

Talk to people you know in the community like a coach, community leader or family friends. They may help you to get work experience or find a job.
Learn from other people’s experience by talking to them about how they found work after school.
Talk to a career guidance or counselling professional about moving from school to work. You can talk about your skills and interests and match these to different jobs. Career guidance can help you see if you need to learn new skills to reach your work goals.

Below is a list of options that can help you move from school to work. You might try some different options before you find one that works for you. Your supports might combine 2 or more of the options listed below:

Support to build skills to live more independently
Support to help you build skills for work and discover what work might suit you – including support to gain experience in actual work settings
Support to find the right job for you
Support to keep your job.

Getting ready to move from school to work

It's important to think about:

What new skills you need to get a job
Where you want to work?
How you will get a job?
How you can get to work?
Do you want to work full-time or part-time?
Getting experience in different workplaces to see what interests you
Volunteering in organisations that interest you
Getting a part-time or casual job while you are still at school
Do you need any supports at work to help you? This can be things like screen reading software, support for personal care or interpreting at work.
If you need supports at work, how can they be included in your work-day? If you need help talking with your employer about supports at work, you could talk first with your family, friends, local area coordinator (LAC), or support coordinator if you have one.

How can these supports help?

Building new skills can help you live more independently. These skills can help you with work. New skills might be catching public transport or getting your driver’s license. New skills could also be managing money, communicating with colleagues, keeping on time, teamwork and controlling emotions. Participants have told us building new skills helped them get a job, keep that job or move on to a new job. Research suggests the best way to develop new skills is with on the job training.
Work experience is a good way to learn more about a job you are interested. Work experience can build your confidence, skills and contacts for future job searches.
Apprenticeships/traineeships can give you both training and paid work in a field you are interested in. Apprenticeships and traineeships usually take 2 to 4 years. You can talk to your school about opportunities to connect with apprenticeships or traineeships while you are still at school.
Volunteering is unpaid work. It can be a great first step to getting paid work. Like work experience, you can spend time volunteering in a job you are interested in. Volunteering can build your confidence, skills and contacts for future job searches.

Talk to your NDIA planner, local area coordinator (LAC) or support coordinator about:

developing and using your plan to pursue your work goals
getting supports in your community.

Ask them questions like:

How do I develop a plan so I can get a job?
What supports and services are available for me to build new skills? Prepare me for work? Help me find work?
What activities have other people like me found useful?
How do I find a good provider to help me?

Read more about questions you can ask providers.

Kavanagh A, Brown D, Dickinson H, Mallett S, Marck C, Weld-Blundell I. (2021). Evidence review: Strategies to increase employment and economic participation for people with a cognitive disability. The University of Melbourne.
National Disability Insurance Agency 2021. Achieving a ‘sense of purpose’: pathways to employment for NDIS participants with intellectual disability, on the autism spectrum and with psychosocial disability. Australia. Prepared by L Smith, A Ames, M Bennett, R Morello.
Wilson, E. & Campain, R. (2020). Fostering employment for people with intellectual disability: the evidence to date , Hawthorn, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology.

Disclaimer

This guide can help you understand which supports you could use to help you pursue your work goals. It does not mean a support will be added to your plan. It does not mean a support will be funded by the NDIS. Some of these supports are provided outside the NDIS. All supports in your plan must meet our reasonable and necessary standards. This includes being value for money. If you read this guide, you should also read work and study supports .

Moving from school to work

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Getting ready to move from school to work