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 Entrance to Funtastic Learning Toys Northwest Houston store. Location supporting the Pre-Employment Transition Service program through Texas Workforce Solutions. |  |
Funtastic Learning Toys is registered with Texas Workforce Commission – Vocational Rehabilitation Services as an On-The-Job Training site for Special Needs Students soon to graduate High School under its Pre-Employment Transition Services program. It currently supports Klein High School and Klein Forest High School through TWS – VRS Pre-Employment Transition Services. | |
Pre-Employment Transition Services | |
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are activities designed for students with disabilities. Pre-ETS support the career development process to increase the success of students with disabilities in obtaining employment after graduation from high school. These services can start as early as fourteen (14) years of age and up to age twenty-two (22). The VR Counselor provides counseling and guidance throughout the process. They also work together with educators and other people supporting the student in the schools.
Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University, Pre-Employment Transition Services Catalog, Texas Workforce Commission, Pre-Employment Transition Services Catalog (texas.gov)
The five Pre-ETS categories are:
- Job exploration counseling—may be provided in a classroom or community setting and include information on in-demand industry sectors and occupations, as well as nontraditional employment, labor market composition, administration of vocational interest inventories, and identification of career pathways of interest to the students. Job exploration counseling provided on an individual basis might be provided in a classroom or in the community and may include discussions on the results of the student’s vocational interest inventory and the in-demand occupations, career pathways, and local labor market data that apply to the student’s interests.
- Work-based learning—may be offered in a group setting and may include a school-based program of job training and informational interviews to research potential employers, work site tours to learn about necessary job skills, job shadowing, or mentoring in the community. For information about services that allow a student to be placed in a paid or unpaid short-term experience, refer to Chapter 14: Work Experience.
- Counseling on post-secondary opportunities—may include information on course offerings, career options, the types of academic and occupational training needed to succeed in the workplace, and postsecondary opportunities associated with career fields or pathways. Counseling may include advising students and parents or representatives on academic curricula, college application and admissions processes, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and providing information on or access to resources that may support a student’s success in education and training, including support services for students with disabilities.
- Workplace readiness training—may include programming to develop social and independent living skills, such as communication and interpersonal skills, financial literacy, orientation and mobility skills, job-seeking skills, understanding employer expectations for punctuality and performance, as well as other “soft” skills necessary for employment.
- Self-advocacy—may include generalized classroom lessons in which students learn about their rights, their responsibilities, and how to request accommodations, services, and other forms of support needed during the transition from secondary to postsecondary education and employment.
Texas Workforce Commission (2022, July 14), VR-SFP Chapter 15: Pre-Employment Transition Services. VR-SFP Chapter 15: Pre-Employment Transition Services | Texas Workforce Commission