Intermediary Background Paper Now Available

Making the Connections: Growing and Supporting New Organizations:
Intermediaries, a background paper prepared by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, is now available on the NCWD/Youth website at www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/background.php.

Intermediaries, a new type of organization, have emerged over the last decade. Intermediaries pursue a dual customer approach, simultaneously serving businesses looking for qualified workers and serving job-seekers and workers interested in advancing their careers. The paper describes how intermediaries function to meet the needs of each of these two groups, as identified by research.

Research shows employers need support from the workforce development system at two distinct levels -- micro and macro. At the micro level (working with individual youth or job seekers and business), employers need help with the following:

• competent, convenient, and targeted assistance in getting youth referrals;
• matching youth skills and interests to the job tasks;
• support in training and monitoring the youth while at the worksite; and
• providing either formal or informal disability awareness and training for the youth’s co-workers.

At the macro level (linking community-wide efforts on behalf of business), intermediaries need to address the following collective employer needs:

• community awareness of industry needs;
• support and coordination of the work of program providers;
• quality skill development programs;
• products and services that support youth in the workplace;
• convenient access to programs;
• support of youth with disabilities; and
• continuous improvement of youth programs services and supports.
  

Guideposts for youth programs, continued

The last newsletter started to describe the critical guideposts for youth programs. The guideposts or design components are: preparatory experiences; career preparation and work-based learning experiences; youth development and leadership activities; and, connecting activities. Details on the guideposts continue in this and future newsletters. Preparatory experiences are essential in forming and developing robust aspirations and for youth to make informed choices about career directions. These experiences can be provided during the school day or through after-school programs and will require collaborations with other organizations. All youth need information on career options, including:

• Career assessments to help identify students’ school and post-school preferences and interests;
• Structured exposure to post-secondary education and other life-long learning opportunities;

• Exposure to career opportunities that ultimately lead to a living wage, including information about educational requirements, entry requirements and income potential; and,
• Training designed to improve job-seeking skills and work-place basic skills (sometimes called soft skills).

To identify and attain career goals, all youth need to be exposed to a range of experiences, including:

• Opportunities to engage in a range of work-based exploration activities such as site visits and job shadowing;
• Multiple on-the-job training experiences, including community service (paid or unpaid) that is specifically linked to the content of a program of study and school credit;
• Opportunities to learn and practice their work skills and “soft skills”; and,
• Opportunities to learn first-hand about specific occupational skills related to a career pathway.

In addition, youth with disabilities need to:

• Understand the relationships between appropriate financial and benefits planning and career choices;
• Learn to communicate their support and accommodation needs to prospective employers and service providers; and
• Learn to request, find, and secure appropriate supports and reasonable accommodations at work, at home, and in the community.

Further information can be found on the NCWD/Youth website at Jump Starts.

World Bank Electronic Discussion

The World Bank is organizing and hosting an e-mail based electronic discussion on the issue of “Employment for Disabled Youth.” The focus is on the good practices of job creation for youth with disabilities worldwide.

The e-conference is designed to solicit information on good practices for job creation to be used as guidance for mainstreaming youth with disabilities. The discussion is open to all interested parties. There is no cost for joining the discussion, but access to e-mail is required.Click here to participate in the conference.

For questions, please contact Marco Nicoli at mnicoli@worldbank.org.