Vocational Skills Checklist for Transition Planning

Use formal and informal transition assessments to identify student preferences, aptitudes, support needs, and work conditions that fit the learner. This provides the foundation for measurable postsecondary goals and annual IEP goals related to employment exploration.

Include the student in identifying preferred job tasks, environments, schedules, and sensory conditions through interviews, choice-making tasks, and planning maps. This is especially important for students with Autism, Intellectual Disability, or Multiple Disabilities who may need visual supports or structured communication options.

Align career exploration instruction with transition assessment results and IEP goals for self-determination or vocational awareness. Use career videos, interest inventories, guest speakers, and community observations to build realistic career knowledge.

Review community businesses, school jobs, and vocational training sites to connect student strengths to authentic work experiences. This supports IDEA transition service requirements and helps teams plan meaningful community-based instruction.

Identify supports the student already uses successfully, such as visual schedules, extended time, noise-reduction tools, prompts, or assistive technology. These accommodation patterns should inform both the IEP and future workplace support planning under Section 504 or ADA considerations.

Create a one-page profile or portfolio page the student can understand and help present during IEP meetings or job training placements. This supports self-advocacy instruction and makes transition planning more concrete and collaborative.

Many students need direct instruction in arriving on time, transitioning between tasks, and following a daily work schedule. Build this into IEP goals when executive functioning, attention, or adaptive behavior affects reliability.

Use systematic instruction, task analysis, and least-to-most prompting to teach students how to complete work tasks accurately. This is an evidence-based practice for improving independence in vocational settings across disability categories.

Monitor how long the student can sustain attention, stand, sit, or complete repetitive tasks before needing support. Use this information to set realistic vocational goals and accommodations, especially for students with Other Health Impairment, Orthopedic Impairment, or emotional regulation needs.

Role-play greetings, asking for help, reporting completion, and responding to feedback in structured and natural settings. Include supports such as sentence starters, scripts, AAC systems, or social narratives when needed.

Cover personal space, tone of voice, break routines, dress expectations, and respecting shared materials. Students with Emotional Disturbance, Autism, or Speech or Language Impairment may need repeated modeling and feedback in authentic contexts.

Teach students what to do when materials run out, instructions are unclear, or a task changes unexpectedly. Link this to self-regulation and executive functioning IEP goals using visual decision trees or coping strategies.

Collect data on prompts needed, steps completed, and quality of work across settings. This documentation helps teams determine whether current accommodations, modifications, or job coaching supports are effective.

Break the application process into manageable parts, including personal information, work history, references, and availability. Provide accommodations such as chunked forms, scribing, picture supports, or assistive technology based on documented student needs.

Focus on functional strengths, school-based jobs, volunteer experiences, certifications, and transferable skills rather than traditional employment history. This is especially useful for students participating in community-based vocational training or school enterprise programs.

Use mock interviews to teach students how to answer common questions, maintain appropriate body language, and describe their strengths. Video modeling and repeated role-play are research-backed strategies for improving interview performance.

Provide clear instruction on when disclosure is optional, how to describe needed supports, and how to ask for reasonable accommodations in respectful language. This connects directly to self-advocacy goals and adult employment readiness.

Help students identify teachers, job coaches, supervisors, or community mentors who can speak to work habits and reliability. Keep this list updated as part of the student's transition portfolio.

Students need direct practice in checking messages, responding appropriately, and using professional language for scheduling or follow-up. Include explicit instruction for students with language processing, reading, or social communication needs.

Schedule job sampling, internships, or volunteer placements that align with the student's postsecondary employment goal. Community-based instruction provides authentic data on performance, support needs, and generalization of job skills.

Break vocational tasks into teachable steps and identify where prompts, visual supports, or adaptive tools are needed. This evidence-based strategy improves consistency and supports paraprofessionals or job coaches in delivering instruction.

Include route following, identifying landmarks, reading schedules, and safely entering and exiting work sites when transportation is a barrier to employment. These skills are essential for transition planning in independent and supported employment pathways.

Teach students to understand wages, count change, use a debit card appropriately, and monitor hours worked if relevant to their vocational goal. Link this to adaptive behavior, functional math, and independent living transition needs.

Simulate timekeeping systems used in real workplaces, including digital apps or paper logs. Students with learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities may need repeated guided practice and visual checklists.

Provide explicit safety instruction before students use cleaning supplies, kitchen tools, office equipment, or stockroom materials. Safety training should include modeling, supervised practice, and documentation of mastery for liability and compliance purposes.

Establish a prompt hierarchy and review data regularly to determine when to reduce verbal, gestural, or physical assistance. Prompt fading is critical for increasing independence and avoiding learned dependence in supported work experiences.

Students should be able to explain what helps them succeed, such as checklists, quiet workspace options, repetition, or extra processing time. This skill supports stronger participation in IEP meetings, job coaching, and eventual workplace communication.

Write annual goals that target observable job skills, such as completing a task sequence with no more than one prompt or initiating communication with a supervisor. Progress monitoring should include frequency, independence level, and setting-specific performance data.

Coordinate with speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, counselors, and vocational rehabilitation where appropriate. Collaboration ensures that communication, motor, behavioral, or sensory needs are addressed in employment planning.

Collect resumes, certificates, employer feedback, task analyses, and progress charts in one place. A well-organized portfolio supports IEP meetings, family communication, and handoff to adult service providers.

Record which supports improve accuracy, behavior, endurance, or communication at school and community job sites. This documentation helps teams make legally sound decisions about continued supports and prepares students for post-school accommodation planning.

Offer visual models, hands-on practice, audio directions, checklists, and demonstration options so students can engage with job skill instruction in different ways. UDL helps increase access for learners with varied cognitive, language, sensory, and behavioral needs.

Schedule regular check-ins to discuss job readiness, barriers, transportation issues, and community experiences. Ongoing collaboration improves consistency across home, school, and work settings and strengthens postsecondary outcomes.