Employment as a Public Health Issue: Evidence-Based Transition and Workplace Supports for Autistic Individuals

Background: Autistic young people and adults experience persistently low rates of paid employment despite international policy commitments to inclusive education, disability rights, and improved post-school transition outcomes. This disparity exists even when controlling for intellectual ability, highlighting a systemic failure to translate educational potential into economic participation.Method: This narrative review synthesises research published between 2010 and 2025 examining evidence-based interventions designed to improve employment outcomes for autistic individuals within special educational needs (SEN) contexts. A structured search of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted. Following screening for relevance and quality, 56 key studies were selected for synthesis. These spanned supported employment models, transition and internship programmes, workplace-focused social skills training, employer-facing interventions, and technology-assisted approaches.Findings: Across intervention domains, findings consistently demonstrate that place-and-train models, contextualised skill development, strengths-based job matching, employer engagement, and long-term follow-along supports are associated with improved job acquisition, retention, and workplace participation. Conversely, traditional ‘readiness’ models that front-load classroom-based training prior to placement show limited efficacy. The review identifies a ‘quality of evidence’ gap, with a reliance on small-scale pilots outside of a few major randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Conclusions: The evidence supports a shift from remediation of the individual to the adaptation of the workplace and educational ecosystem. Implications for inclusive transition planning, educational systems, policy development, and future research within SEN frameworks are discussed, with a particular focus on the mental health impact of unsupported employment.