Tours

Students take part in employer-led tours of worksites where they can learn about different jobs, requirements for those jobs, workplace culture, and whether all of the above would be a good fit. Businesses and workforce community-based organizations can collaborate to organize them.

Job Shadowing

Students make brief worksite visits to spend time with individual workers to learn what their job entails.

For more information, visit NYC Department of Education’s school activity guide on job shadowing.

Mentoring

Students are paired with “adult peers” from the workplace who provide guidance and encouragement on career-related, interdisciplinary projects.

Cultivating Leadership: Mentoring Youth With Disabilities - The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the Department of Labor created this comprehensive overview on mentoring.

Disability Mentoring Day - This international event is hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) in collaboration with the ODEP. Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job seekers and makes employers aware of an available pool of qualified candidates.

Service Learning

Students participate in unpaid work experience, geared to the public good, integrated with school learning through projects or similar mechanisms.

Service Works! Promoting Transition Success for Students With Disabilities Through Participation in Service Learning - This article from the Council for Exceptional Children outlines the importance of service learning for students with disabilities.

Service Learning at the NYC Department of Education - These opportunities are for educators and school leaders who want to develop service learning in classroom curriculum.

Internships

Students participate in paid or unpaid work experience with the employer, school coordinator, and student agreeing to follow a training plan. Students take vocational and work-related classes at school.

Internships for People with Disabilities - Internships can be an effective strategy for achieving disability diversity. EARN explains how to create inclusive internship programs.

Example:

CBS News Internships Program for College Students with Disabilities

Apprenticeships

The integration of academic (or "related") instruction and work-based learning, also called "on-the-job" training. The youth commits to one or two years of paid work experience in a specific trade and is registered as a youth apprentice.

Workforce Development Board Apprenticeship Program for Businesses - Learn more about the importance of apprenticeships through this video created by HMO Working Solutions.

Additional Tools

Work-Based Learning Toolkit - This Toolkit created by the U.S. Department of Education will provide state and local program administrators with information regarding the key components of Work-Based Learning (WBL), an instructional strategy that enhances classroom learning by connecting it to the workplace. It offers guidelines and resources related to creating a state WBL strategy, engaging employers, collecting data, and scaling effective programs.

What to Know About Work-Based Learning for Students and Youth with Disabilities - Federal Partners in Transition created this fact sheet about the general and legislative information related to WBL activities, as well as benefits for the individual and the community.

National Skills Coalition - This organization engages in organizing, advocacy, and communications to advance state and federal policies that support the goal of raising the skills of America's workers across a range of industries.

Work-Based Learning Programs - The New York State Education Department provides an introduction to New York State Work-Based Learning activities.

Work-Based Learning Overview - NYC Department of Education created this comprehensive WBL overview with activity guides and tools for students, school professionals, and employers.

Other Noteworthy Tools from Outside New York State

Work-Based Learning Plan - The Office of College, Career and Technical Education at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education created this tool that assesses employability skills, performance expectations, and the evolution of these skills.

Work-Based Learning Toolbox - The Tennessee Department of Education created this WBL Implementation Guide and supplemental tools designed to help school districts build strong and effective WBL programs.