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SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT
Will Supported Employment be the

radical transformation we hoped for?

Nearly a decade ago a radical promise was made to close the employment gap
between people with learning disabilities and other disabled people by 2025.
Yet unemployment has remained stubbornly high. Julie Ridley asks how successful
Supported Employment has been in increasing opportunities for real paid jobs.

n 2009 in Valuing Employment Now, on a specific role or responsibility. In frameworks, a lack of dedicated funding,
I the Labour Government stated that to contrast, the Supported Employment (SE) complicated welfare benefits systems, and
deny people with learning disabilities model, evolving from progressive move- a lack of leadership or national strategies.
the opportunity to work was a ‘waste of ments in the field of disability, sought to A more fundamental issue lies in whether
talent for individuals, employers, society, place people directly into jobs and pro- jobs for as little as one hour per week
and the wider economy’ (DH, 2009), vide the support they need for as long as count as SE (Hunter & Ridley, 2007).
pronouncing a radical commitment to needed, commonly referred to as ‘place, An independent review in the UK in 2009
increase employment opportunities by train and maintain’. SE was first developed by the Commission for Social Care
2025, particularly jobs of 16 hours or during the 1980s in the US and was widely Inspection and others, concluded that
more, and to close the employment implemented throughout Europe, employment opportunities were a
gap with other disabled people. increasing from just five agencies in the ‘distant goal’ for most people with
The government’s vision for adult social UK in 1986 to over 200 SE services in learning disabilities.
care (DH, 2010) actively encouraged the 1995, supporting an estimated 5,000
use of personal budgets for employment, people in paid jobs, predominantly Reflecting upon the fragility of the sector
although this has been difficult to people with learning disabilities almost 20 years ago, a Policy Consortium
implement (Davies et al, 2012). (Beyer et al, 1996). (O’Bryan et al, 2000) underlined the urgent
Yet, statistical information for England need for SE to become ‘much more widely
from the Adult Social Care Outcomes LARGELY INACCESSIBLE available, with services of consistent
Framework shows a major gap between Since then, many local authorities have quality’. The sector responded with
such policy rhetoric and the reality of struggled to fund SE services because it is development of National Occupational
people’s experience. Rates of not a statutory requirement for them to Standards (NOS) for Supported Employment
employment amongst people with do so, and the numbers of agencies and (updated and revised in July 2017), and a
learning disabilities remain persistently people supported has dwindled. Level 3 Certificate for practitioners.
low, and have been dropping year on Austerity measures and local authority The call for a national strategy and
year. The same is true in Scotland. cut-backs have played a part, but the investment in SE, however, wasn’t heeded.
sector has always been fragile despite What’s more, it appears ever more difficult
In 2015-16, only 5.8% of adults with its innovations and success in improving for people with learning disabilities to
learning disabilities known to local thousands of people’s quality of life. access the employment opportunities they
authorities were in employment It is also because of confusion about how aspire to. Huw Davies, Chief Executive for
compared to 48% for disabled people, SE should be defined, resulting in the British Association for Supported
and 75% for the general population. various versions, including a DWP Employment (BASE), suggests the
The Learning Disabilities Observatory scheme in the 1990s providing employer downward trend in employment
report fewer people in any paid or self- subsidies. Originally designed to support corresponds to a lack of investment in SE
employment by 2014/15, with most of those with high support needs, it is ironic but this could potentially be improved by
those employed (71%) working less than that SE has been largely inaccessible to the Local Supported Employment proof of
16 hours per week, and a sharp drop in people with profound or severe concept trials announced in the green
the number of people working something disabilities. In mental health, it is paper Work, health and disability to be
like a half time job of 16 hours or more generally referred to as Individual implemented later this year. The trials will
per week to achieve the economic, social Placement and Support or IPS and has ensure ESA and Universal Credit claimants
and other benefits. Research in Scotland been subject to greater research scrutiny. with learning disabilities or autism and
finds similarly low employment rates, those in contact with secondary mental
with the vast majority of people with Despite an increasing body of research health services, have better access to
learning disabilities in employment being dating back to the 1970s showing that employment opportunities.
employed for 10 hours or less per week people with significant learning
(Ridley et al, 2005; McTier et al, 2016). disabilities can be taught complex tasks The current investment of £2¾m aims to
using effective task training techniques explore combining central and local
All this is a far cry from the presumption such as ‘training in systematic instruction’ budgets to enhance SE delivery.
of employability for everyone that or TSI, the implementation of SE has been Initially the funding will take place across
underpins supported employment. disappointingly slow (Beyer & Robinson, nine local authority areas – Brighton and
Traditionally, getting a job involved 2009). In 2006, the European Union of Hove, Cheshire West and Chester, York,
someone progressing through various Supported Employment put this down to Croydon, Hertfordshire, Kent, Shropshire,
stages and acquiring skills until a number of issues: lack of a rights-based Stockport and Telford and Wrekin – with a
reaching the point of readiness to take approach to disability, absence of national view to securing further funding for wider

20 Vol 31 No 1 | Autumn 2017 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk