Building Bridges - Transition from university to employment

The transition from university to work life can be experienced as scary and difficult for many students. As they are heading for graduation many starts asking themselves questions like “what kind of jobs am I qualified for?” “What have I really learned during my education?” “How can I use this?” and “Am I good enough?” Students with disabilities ask themselves these same questions, but many of them also have concerns whether their disability will be a barrier in getting a job. Indicators shows that the transition to work life is a critical phase for young people with disabilities and that those who get on the outside of the workforce as young also tends to stay there (Legard, S. 2013) Through White Paper 40 (2002-2003) higher educational institutions were encouraged to take a larger responsibility in easing the transition from education to workforce for students with disabilities. The Norwegian University of science and technology (NTNU) followed this up by including this in its political documents. The Student Service Section at NTNU have had the executive function in this work. This article describes the various projects and activities at NTNU aimed at facilitating the transition from studies to employment for students with disabilities.