7 July 2026
The transition from education into employment remains one of the most significant and persistent challenges facing young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD). Despite years of policy reform, investment and growing awareness, too many young people continue to experience barriers as they move into adult life and meaningful work.
Paul Horgan spoke with Noel Gibb, an experienced leader, adviser, coach, and mediator who has worked across education and skills for many years, about the gaps that remain within the system, why so many young people are still being lost between education and employment, and what needs to change to create better outcomes for individuals, employers and communities.
What really happens to young people with learning difficulties and disabilities once they leave education?
It’s one of the biggest unanswered questions in our sector. Post-16 education is largely focused on preparing young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) for employment and independent adult life. However, once many young people leave education, the trail often goes cold. We spend years making young people community-ready, but too often the community itself is not ready for them.
Why is it so difficult to understand what happens after they leave education?
One of the biggest challenges is that there isn’t a single national picture. In Britain, there is no unified dataset showing how many people in different LDD categories are unemployed or what their long-term employment outcomes are.
This isn’t simply a technical issue. Different parts of the system define disability in different ways. The Equality Act focuses on impairment and its impact on daily life. The Office for National Statistics relies largely on self-reporting. Adult services often use clinical definitions of learning disability.
Meanwhile, education uses categories such as ASD, MLD, SLD and SEMH. These systems don’t align neatly, which means many individuals can become lost as they move from education into adulthood. Policymakers are often trying to solve a problem they cannot fully see.
Even with these gaps in the data, what do we know?
Although the picture is incomplete, several trends are very clear.
The education system currently supports around 570,000 young people and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties across schools, colleges and specialist providers.
Employment outcomes remain stubbornly low. While approximately 1.2 million disabled people are in work, the overall disability employment rate remains only around 53 to 55 per cent.
Supported internships, which are often viewed as one of the sector’s flagship employment pathways, currently reach only around 5,000 to 7,000 learners and are seeing relatively low progression into paid employment.
Apprenticeships show slightly stronger engagement, with around 34,000 learners with learning difficulties or disabilities participating. However, this still represents only around 12 to 15 per cent of all apprenticeships.
During our discussion, a number of recurring issues emerged. What do you see as the main barriers?
Several themes consistently arise.
There is a disconnect between systems. SEND data in education effectively stops at the age of 25, whereas adult systems do not use the same categories. As a result, many young people fall through the gaps.
Transition planning is often weak. Coordination between education providers, social care services and employment support can be inconsistent and frequently depends on informal local relationships rather than structured systems.
There is poor tracking of outcomes. We simply do not consistently monitor employment outcomes, particularly beyond the age of 25.
A limited number of effective employment pathways. Supported internships and apprenticeships are not yet converting into sustained employment at the scale we need.
We also see low employer confidence. Many employers, particularly SMEs, lack awareness, experience or confidence when it comes to employing people with LDD.
Finally, there remain concerns about support for individuals with higher levels of need. Questions persist about the quality and regulation of some adult day services, many of which offer traditional and limited programmes that do not always promote progression.
If you could prioritise reforms, what would need to change?
There are several areas where change could make a real difference. We need better tracking of young people once they leave education so we can understand their long-term outcomes. Transitions between education, social care and employment support also need to be much better joined up, particularly between the ages of 16 and 25.
There needs to be clearer accountability, with local authorities and providers focusing not just on delivering provision, but on outcomes over time. We also need stronger employment pathways, with supported internships and apprenticeships more closely linked to real jobs.
Employer confidence is another key issue. Many businesses need practical support and guidance to recruit and support people with LDD. At a local level, stronger partnerships between employers, local authorities and community organisations could help create more effective solutions. Community projects and volunteering opportunities also have an important role to play in reducing isolation and helping people move into employment, training or further study.
What is the key message you would like policymakers and sector leaders to take away?
The gap between education and employment is not inevitable; it is structural. Without aligned systems, shared definitions and long-term tracking, young people with learning difficulties and disabilities will continue to be underserved by the very systems designed to support them.
Currently , there are the usual plethora of government initiatives: SEND Reforms, the autism diagnosis and assessment proposals in A New Path Ahead and the Prevalence review. However, most noticeable is the Milburn review on those young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) which highlights the additional barriers faced by autistic young people, including poor careers advice and poor educational outcomes due to unmet SEND needs.
We need less reviews but bigger and braver ideas. Above all we need a more coordinated, accountable and locally driven approaches and less Whitehall directives. Only then can we ensure that young people and adults with learning difficulties and disabilities are able to move successfully into meaningful employment and into their communities that helped and trained to be ready and willing to support them.
