The Career Pathways Transition to Employment Project Development, Outcomes and Future Directions. Claire Gleeson, Kieran Lewis, and Dr Clodagh Nolan, Career Pathways Project / Unilink Occupational Therapy Service. Disability Service, Trinity College Dublin.

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Career Pathways Career Pathways is a recovery-orientated and occupation- focused approach to enabling students with disabilities to manage the transition from college to employment. Partnership between Disability Service (Declan Treanor), Unilink Occupational Therapy Service, and Careers Advisory Service (Eileen Daly and Sean Gannon within TCD, and external project officers (Laura Louise Condell and Amie Hynes-Fitzpatrick).

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Background More and more students with disabilities are accessing and succeeding in higher education (AHEAD, 2015). Transition from higher education into employment can be fraught with challenges for these students (Fichten et al, 2012). Employment levels of individuals with disabilities have remained significantly lower than their non-disabled peers (ESRI, 2010). The National Disability Authority (2014) maintains that disabled people are two and a half times less likely to be in work than non-disabled people. Those most excluded from the labour market are often those with mental health difficulties or intellectual impairments (World Health Organisation, 2011).

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Context 1,400 students registered with the Disability Service in TCD alone which is 9% of the student population (TCD Disability Service, 2015). College is the one time where their work, leisure, social networks and professional supports are located within the one inter-connected context (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2011). Unilink Occupational Therapy Service embedded within Disability Service for past 11 years. College as an Opportunity

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Research Findings / Student Needs Building personal strategies Enabling and building your Career Disclosure & Reasonable Accommodations Key Themes that Emerged (Nolan and Gleeson, in press) Fit Advice for students & transition to work Enabling the Work Environment

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Development of the Career Pathways Approach Conduct Research with students and graduates to identify needs and formulate idea (Nolan & Gleeson, in press). Bring Stakeholders together: Collaboration between Disability Service & Careers Service within TCD, and other HEIs. Apply for Funding: €181,000 granted from the Genio Trust. Set objectives over 2 year period in line with Disability Service / Unilink Strategic Plan.Disability Service / Unilink Strategic Plan Recruitment of staff (1 Career Adviser and 2 part-time OTs). Establish oversight committee (Clinical Director Unilink, Heads of Service in Careers and Disability Services in TCD). Deliver!

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Objectives 1.Develop a clearly delineated individual process comprising three stages, with access to individually tailored resources.individual process 2.Develop an online system where students can track and log their work related experiences and engagement with resources available. 3.Develop a series of peer workshops and events, involving graduates with disabilities to act as mentors to current students. 4.Connect students to employers through employment events. 5.Share model and resources within partner HEIs in Dublin area and disseminate nationally within higher education.

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin Developing the Approach: Theoretical Basis 1.Occupation-Focused and Occupation Based (Fisher 2013) - Learning through occupation in the student journey. 2.Person-Environment Occupation Model (Law et al., 1996). - Well suited to context-based model. 3.Recovery Orientation (Deegan, 1988; Anthony 1993).

Outcomes 1. Develop a clearly delineated individual processindividual process 134 students / graduates with disabilities have availed of Career Pathways over the past two years. Over 500 individual meetings have taken place between students and Occupational Therapists / Careers Advisers / AT Officer. ‘The service has given me so much help, support and encouragement – I have really grown in confidence through it.’

Outcomes 2. Develop an online system where students can track and log their work related experiences 30+ separate resources adapted / developed for the ePortfolio System, including worker profile and work self-management programme, as well as career-focused resources.

Outcomes 2. Develop an online system where students can track and log their work related experiences 74 students have been set up on the ePortfolio system thus far. Student owned and his / her resource for life. Schools / Services within TCD and externally now connecting.

Outcomes 3 & 4. Develop a series of peer workshops and events / Connect to Employers 45 students have attended one or more of these events and 16 Employers have connected with Career Pathways. ‘Through a series of workshops and one-to-one sessions, I've been able to work on my CV and interview presentation, giving me the confidence that I need to excel in the professional world.’ ‘…. communicating with peers who are in similar situations, a sense of acceptance and openness surrounding the boot camp.’ Monthly Workshops Annual Bootcamp Employer Events

Outcomes 5. Share model and resources within partner HEIs in Dublin area and disseminate nationally within higher education. 26 Disability and Careers Service staff from four HEIs within the Dublin area have attended training workshops. 52 staff from student services nationally attended workshop ‘Diversity Matters’ on the 2 nd March 2016 Developed Resource Guide for HEIs launched on the 2 nd March.Resource Guide for HEIs Presented at national and international conferences. Journal Publications submitted nationally and in development internationally.

Future Directions Funding extended to September 2016 Integration of approach into service structures within TCD. Disability Service Student Ambassador Programme

Thanks Genio Trust for funding the project. Confederation of Student Services of Ireland for Contributing to the Diversity Matters Workshop Declan Treanor (Disability Service Director) and Sean Gannon (Careers Advisory Service) for not only backing the project, but actively developing and integrating it. Amie Hynes-Fitzpatrick and Laura Louise Condell who developed resources, delivered at workshops and events, and advised upon overall development.

References Association of Higher Education and Disability (2015). Numbers of Students with Disabilities Studying in Higher Education in Ireland 2013/14. AHEAD Educational Press, Dublin. Anthony, W. A. (1993). Recovery from mental illness; the guiding vision of the mental health service system in the 1900s. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 16, Deegan, P.E. (1988). Recovery: The lived experience of rehabilitation. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 9, 4, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) (2010). Peer Review of the Economic and Social Research Institute. Fichten, C.S., Jorgensen, S., Havel, A., Barile, M., Ferraro, V., Landry, M.È., Fiset, D., et al. (2012). What happens after graduation? Outcomes, employment, and recommendations of recent junior/community college graduates with and without disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 34(11), Fisher, A. (2013). Occupation-centred, occupation-based, occupation-focused: Same, same or different? Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 20, 162–173

References Law, M., Cooper, B., Strong, S., Stewart, D., Rigby, P., & Letts, L. (1996). The Person-Environment- Occupation Model: A transactive approach to occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 63(1), National Disability Authority, (2014). Downloaded on the from overview/. overview/ Nolan, C., & Gleeson, C.I. (In press). The Transition to Employment: The Perspectives of Students and Graduates with disabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. Royal College of Psychiatrists (2011). Mental health of students in higher education College Report CR166. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists. TCD Disability Service (2015). Disability Service Bi‐Annual Student Statistics – end of Michaelmas term 14‐15. Available at Annual%20Stats%20end%20of%20Michaelmas%20term% pdf. Downloaded on World Health Organisation. (2011). World report on disability. Geneva, Switzerland: Author

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