Introducing Employability Skills Course for Children Aged 13 to 18 Years with Mild to Moderate Learning Disabilities
Introduction
This essay aims at introducing innovative career preparatory courses for children/students aged 13 to 18 years with mild-to-moderate learning disabilities. It intends to help policymakers better understand the best, technology-based strategy to prepare students with intellectual disabilities for a career. The paper provides a brief background on the history and statistics of adolescents living with learning disabilities who are career-ready, assess various issues and challenges faced by this population in career preparation, and an innovative, technology-based strategy concerning preparation and readiness for a career that may assist them in gaining employability skills. It also incorporates various examples of current government policies and programs designed to help students with intellectual disabilities in their successful school-to-work transition.
Introducing a career preparatory course for students struggling with a mild-to-moderate learning disability is crucial in the current education system since most of them are trapped in a system that was not designed to meet their requirements. The current education system, specifically the career preparatory courses, does not accommodate learning disabilities needs. Work is a central requirement for human survival and a critical part of adult life. Preparing students to be ready for the workforce is a crucial role for most schools. However, most high schools in the country focus on preparing students for a college education. If they do, they do not accommodate students with intellectual disabilities, overshadowing attention to workforce preparation. Most students with learning disabilities do not have the skills or knowledge required to find, apply, and maintain a job. They have a higher likelihood of experiencing under-employment or unemployment, job dissatisfaction, and lower pay compared to their non-disabled peers. As a result, preparing students with mild-to-moderate learning disabilities for the workforce by introducing an innovative employability skills course is crucial. It requires an in-depth, comprehensive trans-disciplinary vocational assessment as well as a significant emphasis on post-school planning.