Autism Careers Education Framework: supporting autistic young people from education into employment
The autism-specific Careers Education Framework (CEF) provides top tips and resources to support autistic young people through careers education into employment. It has been designed for careers leaders and similar staff to ensure effective careers education for autistic young people.
Autistic people have many strengths, despite the challenges they face. These might include attention to detail, an increased interest in topics that bring them joy and the ability to offer different perspectives on situations.
Sadly, because of a lack of understanding and support, many autistic young people face exclusion from school and struggle to access social activities with their peers. They also miss opportunities to advance to further education or find meaningful employment.
Only 57% of autistic young people said careers advisors understood autism and their needs.
When they finish school, few autistic young people move on to college, further training or the workplace. In fact, only one in four autistic young people access education or training beyond school.
An effective careers education approach and programme during school and college is essential. It ensures that autistic young people gain the necessary employability skills and learn about themselves, while accessing tailored opportunities they can use to prepare for adulthood.
The autism-specific CEF has been created based on our research running educational settings and designed in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company. The CEF will help you deliver good careers education for autistic young people. It also provides top tips and resources for careers leaders through an interactive online guide.
Gatsby Benchmarks
The CEF has been created using the Gatsby Benchmarks. You will note reference to the benchmarks throughout. We hope that in using the CEF you will have the tools and information you need to improve your Gatsby Benchmark scores.
Learn more about the CEF and how to use it in the video.
Guides one and two
For ease of navigation, we have created two distinct versions of the CEF, guide one and guide two, each suitable for a different cohort of autistic young people in different educational settings.
Guide one is for careers leaders supporting autistic young people in specialist settings, e.g. a specialist college or special school, or for young people accessing a personalised education or who typically do not take level 2 qualifications/GCSEs.
Guide two is for careers leaders supporting autistic young people accessing a mainstream curriculum, e.g. a mainstream school, college or pupil-referral unit.
We know that a wide range of autistic young people access education in both of these categories. So, we recommend that you begin with the guide suitable for the majority of autistic young people you support and your educational setting. Then, move on to the resources and information in the other guide to ensure all your autistic young people have the right support, information and resources.
In each guide we will explore four themes:
Engaging stakeholders ensuring autistic young people can reach their potential in further education, training or employment requires a collaborative effort involving multiple stakeholders. This should begin as soon as a young person enters an educational setting.
Curriculum planning is an opportunity to embed an understanding of the working world within timetabled lessons. This will be unique to your educational setting.
Experiences in and of the workplace provide valuable insight that autistic young people can benefit from. These experiences help them to think about their career choice and develop self-advocacy skills and understanding of workplace rights.
Transition planning is also very important. The reduction of support in the workplace compared to that available in education can be daunting. So, begin transition preparation early and give young people exposure to the working world throughout their education years.
In each of the themes you will find three to four free resources:
- Example: a document we use in our educational settings. We hope that these inspire you to create your own similar documents.
- Template: an interactive PDF for you to use in your setting with your autistic cohort.
- Guide: a ‘How to’ guide for you and top tips on delivering an activity.
- Learning resource: a tool to use in the teaching and learning environment with autistic young people.
The CEF is yours to explore. Choose the guide most appropriate to you, navigate through each theme and download your free resources. We look forward to hearing how the guides support you to improve careers education for autistic young people. Please use the feedback pop-up at the bottom right-hand side of this webpage to share your thoughts.
Where to start?
We have created a self-audit and glossary, which may help you to decide where you would like to begin with the CEF.
Choose the guide best suited to you
Guide one: from specialist education to employment
This guide is for careers leaders supporting autistic young people accessing a specialist education setting.
Guide two: from mainstream education to employment
This guide is for careers leaders supporting autistic young people accessing a mainstream curriculum.
Further importance of CEF
The Buckland Review
In April 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions launched The Buckland Review of Autism Employment. This comprehensive review aims to address the employment gap for autistic people and focuses on identifying barriers and proposing solutions to support autistic individuals in securing sustained and fulfilling employment. The report contains 19 recommendations to enhance employment opportunities for autistic people. These recommendations cover various aspects, including:
- Identifying and supporting autistic staff: encouraging employers to better recognise and support autistic employees within their workforce.
- Preparation for work: strategies to prepare autistic individuals for starting or returning to a career.
- Reducing stigma and improving productivity: initiatives to create a more inclusive workplace culture.
The goal is to create a workplace environment that enables more autistic individuals to start, stay and succeed in their careers, ultimately transforming lives and promoting inclusivity.
Ofsted
Ofsted recognises that quality careers education is essential for empowering students, promoting equity and preparing them for successful transitions beyond school. Careers are referenced across the whole Ofsted inspection framework, but the majority falls under the personal development judgement.
Find out more in Ofsted’s Independent review of careers guidance in schools and further education and skills providers.
Who is the CEF for?
Are you a senior leader in education or governor?
There will be information and resources within the CEF relevant for senior leaders in education and governors.
Are you a careers leader and/or a careers adviser?
The CEF has been designed specifically for careers leaders and careers advisors.
Are you a SENCO?
There is information and resources within the CEF relevant to SENCO’s. We encourage you to also work with a staff member who leads on careers education.
Are you a young person?
Our toolkit has been created to support your journey from education to employment. In addition, you may want to join our online youth network.
Are you a member of staff at a school/college?
There is information and resources within the CEF relevant to all school and college staff. We encourage you to also work with a staff member who leads on careers education.
Are you a parent or carer?
Our transition to employment toolkit may help you. In addition, you can join our online community for parents and carers of autistic children and young people.