Designing Statewide Strategies & Programs

National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability For Youth
Given that career planning and management
skills encompass a wide range of skills (soft
skills, career-specific skills, job search skills,
financial literacy skills, and youth development
and leadership competencies), it is advisable
to integrate opportunities to develop
these skills into academic courses as well as
extra-curricular offerings. For youth with disabilities,
career planning and management
skills building must also include opportunities
to 1) become familiar with the accommodations
that are most helpful for them to
pursue postsecondary training or education
and succeed in the workplace; 2) learn how
to connect with support systems that will enable
their transition to postsecondary training
and education, work opportunities, and
access to independent and/or supported living
arrangements; and 3) learn how to manage
challenges that may result from their
particular disability status.
disabilities and other disconnected youth.
States can strengthen the results of their
career development systems by using the
Guideposts’ holistic and inclusive view of
youth transition needs to inform career development
system design and planning. Doing
so enables states to be more intentional
about building a career development system
that takes into consideration the full picture
of young people’s lives during the transition
years, including issues specific to certain
youth sub-groups. Using the Guideposts also
helps states to identify opportunities to build
and strengthen cross-system and cross-sector
collaboration to improve youth’s career
development and other outcomes.
The Guideposts identify five interrelated domains
of experiences all youth need in order
to become career ready and to achieve a
successful transition to adult life.
Using the Guideposts for Success to
Design State-Level Comprehensive
Career Development Systems
The Guideposts for Success is a national transition
framework that states can use as a
strategic organizational tool when designing
comprehensive youth career development
programs in schools and community
settings. While the Guideposts are focused
more broadly on all aspects of transition to
adulthood, career development is one of five
primary objectives within the framework. An
advantageous feature of the Guideposts is
its focus on all youth, including those with
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Guidepost 1—School-Based
Preparatory Experiences outlines
the academic-related preparatory
experiences that all youth need to
access in order to enable optimal
performance;
Guidepost 2—Career Preparation
and Worked-Based Learning
Experiences provides the basis upon
which youth form and develop career
aspirations and make career related
choices;
Guidepost 3—Youth Development
and Leadership refers to activities
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