Jamaica

School to Work Transition Programme for Students with Special Education Needs

Young people with disabilities around the world face greater barriers to obtaining employment or accessing post-secondary education than young people without disabilities, and Jamaica is no exception. Decades of advocacy and training efforts have paved the way for many youth with disabilities to achieve their goals in Jamaica, yet more resources and guidance were needed to systematize school-to-work support to students among educators nationally. The goal of IDP’s work in Jamaica was to provide support to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s (MoEYI’s) Special Education Unit in designing and implementing a school-to-work transition program. 

Under the guidance of UNICEF Jamaica and the MoEYI’s Special Education Unit, IDP conducted a situational study on promising practices and areas of opportunity for school-to-work transition in Jamaica and internationally.  This study was grounded in extensive consultations with students, families, school stakeholders, NGOs and OPDs, tertiary education institutions, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) providers, government, and private sector actors.  Based upon the findings of this study, IDP supported the development of a transition manual and accompanying training modules for system-wide application in Jamaica.