The effectiveness of stakeholder needs-based instructional material in teaching employability skills to young people with intellectual disabilities

The aim of this research is to examine the effectiveness of employability skills required to ensure the sustainability of working life for individuals with intellectual disabilities by creating employability training materials based on the needs of employability skills, information and support. The research was designed as a mixed method research. A total of 20 people, including 10 employers and 10 teachers, participated in the qualitative part of the research, and 3 newly recruited ZYOGs participated in the quantitative part. The findings of the research revealed that ZYOGs need employability skills in the workplace. The employability training material consists of three training modules, namely (1) Communication, (2) Personal Characteristics and Taking Responsibility and (3) Interpersonal Skills. In the implementation process of examining the effectiveness of the employability training material, the effectiveness of the video model teaching process on the acquisition, retention and generalization of employability skills in the workplace of the VLSSs was examined. In the quantitative phase of the research, the multiple probe with probe trial model, one of the single-subject research methods, was used. The effectiveness findings of the study revealed that the video model was effective in the acquisition of employability skills in the workplace and generalization of skills to different materials, environments and individuals. In addition, it was also observed that the VLSSs maintained the acquired skills after 1, 3 and 5 weeks. According to the findings obtained from social validity data, workplace supervisors, families and other staff expressed positive opinions about employability skills and the implementation. Key words: Intellectual disability, Employability skills, Video model, Sustainable work life