Problem addressed

The transition from school to work is an important - and frequently difficult - step for young people, even more so for teenagers with disabilities or physical, psychological and/or social impairments. In Slovenia, the unemployment rate of young people with special needs is very high. At the same time, employers are required to hire a certain number of people with disabilities in order to fulfil mandatory quotas.

Innovative solution

The key objectives of the Youth Transition project include improving the social inclusion of young people with disabilities, improving their competences in order to bring them closer to the labour, raising awareness and motivating employers to recruit young people with disabilities, contributing to the creation of a supportive environment as an interface between school and the labour market, establishing a single employment network to move successfully from school to the labour market, and encouraging professionals in educational and other institutions and parents or guardians to support the transition from school to the world of work.

From January 2018 to August 2022, the Association of Vocational Rehabilitation Providers of the Republic of Slovenia has been leading 13 partners (vocational rehabilitation providers) to cooperate in facilitating the transition of young people (<29 years) with disabilities from school to places of higher education or to the labour market.

The Youth Transition project provides professional assistance to young people with special needs, working with their parents and families, professional staff, schools, employers, and a range of professional organisations in the fields of health and social care to facilitate their transition to further levels of education or the labour market. Through early coordination and cooperation, it introduces employment-related support into the education system, providing a single supporting employment network to move successfully from school to the labour market.

The Association of Vocational Rehabilitation Providers of the Republic of Slovenia is the project coordinator, working with 13 partners or vocational rehabilitation providers. The project is co-financed by national funds and the ESF (EUR 3.4 million of a total project budget of EUR 4.2 million). The project was initially planned to be implemented by the end of 2021 but was extended until 31 August 2022.

Key results and benefits

Evaluation of the project has been carried out by the Development Centre of the University Rehabilitation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia Soča (URI Soča).

Final evaluation report shows that the project is a successful and valuable interface between the school and the labour market for young people with special needs.

A total of 2,073 young people with disabilities from 616 educational institutions participated in the project. There were 36 professionals involved serving their needs. In addition, parents and school counsellors were actively involved in the project in terms of encouraging, empowering and supporting young people with special needs in the transition to the world of work.

Good cooperation was established with 246 employers, who offer job tours, work experiences, and employment opportunities. Cooperation was also established with various education, social and healthcare services, employment services and other non-profit organisations and associations in order to provide a multidisciplinary and inter-institutional approach to transition from school to the labour market. That has proven to be very effective and an important factor contributing to the successful implementation of the project.

‘Through the project, I received help in choosing a career as well an appropriate school for it. The information obtained will help me decide on a profession I can work in, despite my disability’ (9th grade primary school student, 14 years old).

'Joining the project is meaningful to me because if you have health problems or suffer from a physical disability, like myself, being involved in the project facilitates a path to employment, as they (the professionals working in the project) link you with employers. By joining the project I have gained new knowledge and acquaintances' (4th year secondary school student).

‘The project allows us, the group of young people with special needs, to get the necessary assistance we need to enter the labour market. I think the project is very important because it allows employers, as well as society in general, to accept us as equal to others with only a slight difference, namely having slightly different needs. Personally, I have benefitted a lot from the project, but the most important thing is that it is easier to imagine a more secure and stable future’ (1st year university student).

‘For my 19-year-old daughter who has an autistic disorder, this project has been very good and welcome. Joining the Youth Transition project enabled her to be re-integrated into the outside world, into activities and daily routines. She works with people who understand her condition and the situation. While participating in the project, we have managed to arrange a permanent home address and social status for her’ (student's mother).

Potential for mainstreaming

The project addresses the problem of high unemployment among young people with disabilities in a unique and innovative way. Although tailored to the Slovenian context, crucial elements could be successfully transferred to other local or national contexts. An important element ensuring successful implementation of services provided is regional coverage of services and thus accessibility of services to all users, regardless of place of residence or school. In addition, we believe that high professional qualification of professionals offering services and mainly their readiness to acquire new knowledge needed to work with vulnerable groups throughout the project is important. Further, a multidisciplinary team approach is vital. In our case, it was simply provided due to unique situation, namely all project partners are also providers of vocational rehabilitation services and are therefore, consisting of multidisciplinary teams, which were involved in offering services to project users. In addition, our practice shows that not only multidisciplinary but also trans-institutional cooperation is vital. Furthermore, all actors involved: schools, social and health care organisations, employers and other formal and informal organisations dealing with young people with special needs must function in a coordinated fashion.