Summer is a great time to explore employment experiences! Summer employment opportunities are often overlooked for youth with disabilities, but they’re as important for promoting maturity, independence, and adult employment skills for students with disabilities as they are for any other teenager.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Connect with WorkOne centers. Set up a field trip to a WorkOne center to help students find summer employment, apply for summer jobs, interview, and obtain a summer job!
2. Connect with a local Independent Living Center. They can help students connect to all sorts of area support resources, including transportation, employment, and peer supports.
3. Work with your local Chamber of Commerce, commerce office, or state department of labor and to connect with employment options for youth. For example, Project Indy provides connections to job opportunities, soft-skill development, and job-readiness training for Indianapolis area teens and young adults.
4. Think backwards and creatively! Sponsor or connect students to a reverse or an online job fair in your area. At a reverse job fair, students with disabilities can prepare to meet potential employers who come to meet the students. Or, employers can also join a virtual/online job fair to meet with potential youth employees!
5. Finally, connect with agencies or area Pre-ETS providers that can help students obtain job skills and connect to potential employers.
   • Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
   • Project SEARCH (Indianapolis, South Bend) and Other Indiana Internship Sponsors
   • JAG Indiana
   • Work Without Limits