Challenges and lessons for supporting disabled young people. Tony Wilson, Policy Director Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion

Content Disabled young people – the challenges Supported internships – what works Employment support – what works The evidence base – challenges & lessons The value of monitoring soft outcomes

Challenges for disabled young people Disabled young people are far more likely to be NEET. The proportion of disabled 19 year olds without a Level 3 qualification has fallen. But disabled young people are less likely to be in Higher Education. Having a degree level qualification can significantly improve disabled people’s employment outcomes.

Challenges for disabled young people Employment rates for young disabled people have dropped. Disabled people are less likely to be in work than non-disabled people. Young disabled people have high aspirations but by the time they reach adulthood their aspirations have reduced.

What works in supported internships Project SEARCH supported internship model for young people with learning disabilities. Uses many features of the Supported Employment model: Employer and customer engagement Vocational profiling Job matching / job analysis Personalised in-work support including TSI

What works in supported internships Strong partnerships and senior ‘buy in’ Early focus on job search and employer links Flexible approach – adapt to local circumstances Sites reported key benefits of the model as: Experience of ‘real work’ Alternative to cycle of education/training Social and personal benefits for interns Improvements and efficiency for employers Some evidence of financial savings

What works in employment support Participant engagement and raising aspirations. Vocational profiling used to inform job search and job matching. Employer engagement and the use of ‘place and train’ approaches. In-work support including systematic instruction and development of natural supports. Career development. Individual focus and personalised support. Continuity in smoothing transitions.

How robust is the evidence base? Approaches accepted as effective are Supported Employment for learning disability and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for mental health. But costed evidence is limited. Issues for measuring economic impact include: How economic analysis is measured. Some lack of clarity on the models. Employment rates are often around 50% - what happens to the other 50%?

The value of monitoring soft outcomes Distance Travelled: the progress customers make in terms of achieving soft outcomes that lead towards sustained employment or associated hard outcomes. Why? To capture the benefits resulting from programmes that may be missed if only hard outcomes are recorded. Value of such a tool identified in the evaluation of the specialist disability employment programme WORKSTEP.

The value of monitoring soft outcomes Good for customer confidence and self esteem. Good for support worker motivation. Good for supporting tailored and efficient interventions. Good for programme development. Good for showing development to potential employers. Provides structure and depth to development planning.

Key references for more info DWP (2013) Fulfilling Potential: Building a deeper understanding of disability in the UK today. Purvis et al (2012) Project SEARCH Evaluation: Final Report, ODI. HM Government (2010) Valuing Employment Now: Job Coaching or Support Employment – Approach and Progress in Development Standards. Hasluck and Green (2007) What works for whom? A review of evidence and meta-analysis for the Department of Work and Pensions, DWP Research Report No Wilkins et al (2012) Economic Evidence Around Employment Support, National Institute for Health Research. Purvis et al (2009) Exploring a Distance Travelled approach to WORKSTEP development planning, DWP Research Report No. 566.