For all youth, especially youth with disabilities, work experiences during their school years are necessary prerequisites to post-school employment success. Therefore, one of the most important functions of many youth-serving organizations is to link youth directly with work experiences and jobs. Although this requires knowledge of individual youth and their circumstances, it is just as important that these organizations have a deep knowledge of individual employers and their operational conditions so that effective matches are made — matches that meet both the youth’s goals and the employer’s needs. Quality work experiences simply are not possible without interested, willing, and well-prepared employers.
This InfoBrief focuses on how youth-serving organizations can become more effective as intermediary linkages between youth and employers by adopting certain practices. This brief offers basic employer-friendly strategies that will assist intermediaries and their representatives in making productive connections with employer customers that can result in successful work experiences for youth. Increasingly, state and local workforce boards and their youth-service-providing partners are realizing the need to assess their capacities and strategies to link with and provide supports to employers.
