Supported Employment Agency Ltd
Andrea Wayman CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ELITE Supported Employment Agency Ltd
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Vision
• To enable vocational experience and / or paid employment opportunities for people with disabilities of all ages
Mission
• To enable individuals with disabilities, to access, obtain and maintain paid employment via appropriate support
Established in 1994 Voluntary organisation Registered Charity Originally set up to work with adults with learning disabilities living in Mid Glamorgan Now work with people with learning disabilities / difficulties, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health conditions and those at a disadvantage to access and maintain employment Aged 14 - 65 years + Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot, Cardiff and the Vale, Carmarthen, North Wales, Ireland and Poland. Funders: Jobcentre Plus sub contracts, Local Authorities of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Caerphilly and European Social Fund sub contracts, Interreg and Leonardo project, BBC Children in Need. Other past funders: Big Lottery, various Local Education Authority Head Office: Magden Park Satellite Office: Llandarcy and the use of other community outreach venues
An Overview of Supported Employment Aim: to provide you with a brief overview of supported employment Objectives: by the end of the session, you should be able to: • Define supported employment • Explain the UK model of supported employment • List the advantages of supported employment to both the employer and the person with a disability
Supported Employment originated in the USA in the 1970s In 1984, the USA employment as:
Developmental
Disabilities
Act
defined
supported
Paid employment which: •Is for person’s with development disabilities for whom competitive employment at or above the minimum wage is unlikely and who, because of their disabilities, need ongoing support to perform in a work setting •Is conducted in a variety of settings, particularly worksite, which persons without disabilities are employed •Is supported by an activity needed to sustain paid work by persons without disabilities include supervision, training and transportation
An Overview of Supported Employment This definition has formed the basis of supported employment in the UK. It emphasises the principles that supported employment should take place in integrated jobs and not pre-vocational or sheltered work settings. UK supported employment is aimed at all disabled people: • Learning disabilities / difficulties • Physical disabilities • Sensory impairments • Mental health conditions who need support to find, maintain and sustain employment. Support needs to be short, medium or long-term. It involves training, job support, aids and adaptations and any other mechanism to ensure the support is effective. Real work: • Real work settings • Non disabled co-workers • Are trained by experts in the job • They take place over the duration of a “working day” • We would expect equal payment for the work undertaken • Zero reject philosophy
With the right sort of support, anyone who wants to can work
Supported Employment Model
Definition of Supported Employment
“Real work, for real pay, in real work settings, with the appropriate levels of support to both the individual and the employer�
Definition of Supported Employment
“We believe everyone can work irrespective of disability, if found the right job and provided with relevant support and training�
Careers are Individually Determined If people choose jobs that match their interests and abilities, they are more likely to be motivated by their work and succeed in their jobs.
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Reality for People With Learning Disabilities / Difficulties Low societal expectations Lack of opportunity to obtain paid jobs Unaware of what job choices are available to them Unaware of what different jobs entail Lack of experience Difficult to make informed judgements about their own potential to meet the demands or requirements of different jobs
In order to enable people to make informed choices about their careers and shape their own employment destiny, services need to support people to try out different types of jobs
PLACE – TRAIN – MAINTAIN (approach to supported employment) PLACE
• Vocational profiling • Development planning • Job matching / job finding
TRAIN
MAINTAIN
• Job analysis • Develop a support strategy • Natural supports
• Gradual withdrawal • Fading • Monitoring
Stages of Supported Employment (and a selection of associated challenges) Get to know the jobseeker
Managing referrals, active participation of all concerned, getting right information, funding pressures, keeping focussed, proper records
Individual jobsearch & matching
Staff skills, active participation of jobseeker, record-keeping, marketing strategies, negotiation, pre-work preparation, influence of state benefits
Tailored work support plan
Avoiding dependency – and “dumping”, reaching for full potential, working with workplace team
“Fade” and monitor
Facilitating integration and inclusion in all aspects of working life, developing career beyond first post, effective records
David was a student at Ysgol Hen Felin in the Rhondda. He had completed an accredited course and a work experience with Elite prior to the Real Opportunities project commencing. However, during his planning sessions with the RCT Hub it was identified that he would like to continue his journey to paid employment. We therefore received an Intra-referral early on in the project and began our profiling sessions, establishing that we would provide assistance with travel training for any work experience. This was followed up with a supported placement in Café Rana. During David’s time on his work experience at the Café, the manager Rhys was very impressed with his attitude and commitment to work. This therefore allowed us to negotiate with Rhys the possibility of some part time paid employment on the weekends, while David remained in education. Rhys was very happy with this and we continued our 1:1 support with David for a period until he was independent. David has recently celebrated the third anniversary of his paid employment. Rhys the manager stated “David continues to work hard and it’s been great see him grow into his role”. As David is leaving college this summer he recently discussed with us the possibility of gaining full time paid employment. He felt that the experience he had gained over the last 3 years had meant that he was ready to pursue full time work. We are currently in negotiations with an employer about the possibility of full time paid employment, aiming for a 1 August start date.
Any Questions?