The definition of Supported Employment accepted and agreed by EUSE is “the provision of support to people with disabilities or other disadvantaged groups to secure and maintain paid employment in the open labour market”.
Supported Employment has been successfully used for decades as a model to help people with significant disabilities secure and retain paid employment. The model uses a partnership strategy to enable individuals to achieve sustainable long-term employment and businesses to employ valuable workers. Increasingly, supported employment techniques are being used to support other disadvantaged groups such as young people leaving care, ex-offenders and people recovering from drug and alcohol misuse.
We identify the most ‘natural’ ways in which we can support individuals in employment, working in partnership with employers and all concerned. More intensive and personalised approaches, such as Training in Systematic Instruction, are available if needed.
Supported Employment is often referred to as Individual Placement and Support (IPS) when used to support people with long-term mental health needs. In IPS, there is an additional emphasis on the co-location of employment and clinical staff.
The model
This model is, at its heart, based on the notion that anyone can be employed if they want to work and sufficient support is provided. The model is a flexible, continuous process designed to meet individual needs. The European Union of Supported Employment has produced a toolkit containing position papers and guides to the supported employment model.
Engaging Jobseekers:
Service providers should have high expectations for jobseekers and don’t screen people for job readiness. There should be evidence that marketing materials are easy to understand and inform jobseekers about the service and how it operates. Jobseekers should have access to impartial advice and guidance to identify career choices and address any potential barriers.
Vocational Profiling and Action Planning:
Service providers should evidence how the service provider involves jobseekers and their circle of support and works in partnership with stakeholders to understand the individual’s experience, skills, abilities, interests, wishes and needs. This should include using vocational profiling to identify appropriate options for employment, and is seen as an active and ongoing process. Utilising SMART action plans that identify clear learning goals and address barriers.
Engaging Employers:
Service providers should make use of local labour market information to engage with employers across a range of sectors, evidencing high priority in employer engagement within the service. How well the business case is understood by jobcoaches and how well they address any employer concerns? As customers themselves, employers will expect service providers to engage with them to understand their needs and concerns. Service providers should evidence that employer engagement processes are reviewed to evaluate how successful they are. How is information about employer contact stored and used? Service providers should be able to demonstrate how employers are advised and supported around developing inclusive recruitment processes.
Job Matching and Securing Employment:
Job matches should be based around the interests, skills and support needs of jobseekers with evidence that vocational profile information is used effectively within the job matching process. Service providers should be ambitious for its jobseekers, both in the types of jobs sought and in the hours worked per week. Service providers should demonstrate that they have an accurate understanding of the job requirements, through Job Analysis, as well as the jobseeker’s skills and aspirations. Information about the need for skills development should inform action planning. Service providers should have systems in place to ensure that workplaces are safe and that individual risk factors are assessed and managed.
In-Work Support and Career Development:
Service providers should evidence how they identify, plan and deliver support to the employer and the employee, including how the employer is encouraged to play a full role in inducting, training and supporting their staff. Examples of evidence could include how natural support is maximised within the workplace and how the service responds to conflicts and any cases of discrimination, etc.
Not many people stay in the same job for the whole of their working lives and people with disabilities are no different in having to adapt to changing labour markets and wanting to improve their working lives. Supported employment should encourage the career development of individuals by promoting training opportunities and seeking options for increased responsibility.