Pathways to work: Helping people into employment

NIACE’s broad aim is to advance the interests of adult learners and potential learners. Its work has a particular concern for widening access to learning opportunities and increasing participation among those groups currently under-represented and in danger of exclusion from education and training. NIACE’s work gives priority to measures to secure more and different adult learners. Improving opportunities for adults with learning difficulties or disabilities by working across agencies is a significant priority for NIACE and has been for over 10 years.

In 2000 NIACE piloted a ‘Prescriptions for Learning’ project, which based a learning adviser in G.P surgeries. The learning adviser offered guidance and support to access learning and voluntary work to patients, including those on Incapacity Benefit, referred by healthcare staff. NIACE now facilitates a consortium of 40 ‘Prescriptions for Learning’ projects nationally.

A recent NIACE project “Making the Jump - transition to work” focused on the transition from education/training to employment for adults with learning difficulties.

NIACE welcomes this consultation document from the Department for Work and Pensions and shares the minister’s belief that “everyone who wants to work has the right to do so…”

NIACE agrees that more needs to be done to support people with health problems and disabilities into work and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposals in the Pathways to work: Helping people into employment document.

NIACE welcomes:

1. the recognition of non-health related obstacles to work i.e. barriers that are outside the individual
2. the recognition that the processes of receiving benefits can be bad for your health
3. the inclusion in the new employment programmes of support to empower people to understand and manage their own health needs and difficulties and develop strategies to help them return to work
4. the recognition of the complexity of issues and the realisation of the need for a sensitive approach especially in the re-naming of the benefits so that they are seen as empowering

NIACE has concerns:

1. that the role of education as a route into employment is not recognised in this document
2. that the paper implies a ‘one size fits all’ assessment process can support people with a range of different needs
3. that there is no mention of voluntary work as a route into employment
4. that there is not enough about the importance of identifying and supporting individuals who have needs around their literacy and numeracy skills
5. that the role of advisers is recognised to be not just about assessment and advice but also about training, confidence building, skills acquisition, coaching, support and in some cases help on a daily basis once work has started

Education can play a key role particularly in helping to restore people’s self-confidence which is perceived by people on Incapacity Benefit to be one of the major obstacles to them gaining employment - p.14.

For many people on Incapacity Benefit it will have been their previous employment that caused their health difficulties. Education is therefore, a route into different employment and career changes through re-training.

Many people with learning difficulties and long-term mental health difficulties have had limited opportunities to mix in a range of social settings. College and work experience placements can offer opportunities to develop interpersonal skills that are key to relating to and communicating well with work colleagues.

Evaluation of the ‘Prescriptions for learning’ project found that individuals referred to the project needed varying amounts of support. On-going support was essential, particularly for those with fluctuating health needs. However, many learners required less support as they became more aware of their own strengths and more aware of the opportunities available to them and how to access them

The Making the Jump project (Transition to work, Yola Jacobsen, NIACE, September 2002) found that Individual Learning Plans were a particularly effective way of supporting people with learning difficulties in their transition from education into work. This process would start from the initial interview through to the individual learner’s support package once in employment.

Voluntary work can be good experience for moving into paid employment. People with learning difficulties interviewed as part of the Making the Jump project said that voluntary work helped them:

The DfES Skills for Life strategy is running ongoing training programmes for staff working across a wide range of agencies with people with learning difficulties and disabilities who need support with their literacy and numeracy skills. Details of the training on the Adult Pre-entry Curriculum Framework for Literacy and Numeracy and the Access for all guidance documents are available on the NIACE website www.niace.org.uk.

The role of the adviser in enabling people with health needs and disabilities is crucial. Learning advisers on ‘Prescriptions for Learning’ projects were most successful where the advisers were able to combine a sensitive person-centred approach with enthusiasm and ability to motivate the learners they were working with. Learning advisers also found that good guidance skills of listening, empathising and rapport building to be essential. Effective guidance may also involve new learning for adults during the process.

There will need to be different patterns for work-focused interviews according to peoples’ own needs and disabilities. Interviewers need to be flexible and prepared to vary location:

NIACE agrees that there needs to be criteria for excluding some people from the sequence of mandatory work-focused interviews if it makes the service they get less intrusive. However, we have concerns about this being done by automatically excluding individuals on the basis of a list of certain conditions or disabilities as given on p.27 of the Pathways to work document.

The same disability can have a different effect on different individuals and many people who are ‘registered blind’ or have a ‘severe learning disability’ both want to and do succeed in employment. Exclusion needs to work along the lines of ‘those for whom work is not currently a reality’ rather than purely being defined by disability. This would also allow for people with more fluctuating needs such as mental health service users. It is a more positive approach and keeps the door open for those who believe/hope that their health will improve enough for them to work.

NIACE suggests the following as key elements of the adviser training:

There should be a broad, holistic training for advisers, such as that provided for Connexions advisers. The training should include work placement opportunities for advisers:

NIACE believes that there is a need for greater working partnerships across different sectors such as health, education and employment services. Often people working in one organisation are unaware of other local provision. Links to other services will mean that information about programmes available will reach more people. A close working partnership between an FE college and a Supported Employment Agency, for example, meant that students with learning difficulties were supported throughout their transition from education to work by the appropriate professionals working across agencies with a wide network of contacts. (Making the Jump - Transition to work, NIACE 2002)

Many people who have health problems will be happier to participate if they are advised or referred by a trusted professional who they believe works in their interest, for example a G.P., Health Visitor or tutor. NIACE has discovered that many Adult Learners Week award winners traced their return to learning back to their G.P who encouraged them to go back into education.

Education has a key role to play as a referral agency to other employment orientated programmes. There should be more opportunities for staff to work in an outreach capacity helping individuals to move on from one programme to the next.

A well proven way of encouraging people to take up learning and training is through positive examples of other individuals in similar situations. For example, a series of booklet/leaflets profiling individuals on Incapacity Benefit who have returned to learning as a successful route back into employment.

There are particular issues that can cause blocks to disabled people receiving support into employment:

It is important that the Choices Package includes Education. Learners need individualised packages where they might try college for a few hours a week with some work experience or combine learning with voluntary work.

In some cases progression into work could take time - months rather than weeks, years rather than months for people with long-term and severe health needs. For some individuals it is appropriate to offer ongoing support once they have moved on from training to work. This is a particular characteristic of Supported Employment programmes.

Supported Employment programmes are often, for people with learning difficulties and some people with mental health difficulties, one of the most important ways of moving into employment. Currently provision for Supported Employment in the UK is very variable and incoherent. See:

A Framework for Supported Employment, Anne O’Bryan, Ken Simons, Steve Beyer, Bob Grove, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2000.

Economic Security and Supported Employment, Anne O’Bryan, Ken Simons, Steve Beyer, Bob Grove, National Development Team, 2000.

Advice on benefits has to be clear and accessible to the people who need it. Many people with learning difficulties and disabilities and their families have very deep fears about the move away from benefits and are convinced that they will end up worse off financially. These are often perceived rather than validated fears. However, it is often difficult to find someone to give the right information and to be able to reassure them. It would also be helpful for people to have access to opportunities to improve their understanding of financial issues so for instance, they can work on planning their finances.

Individuals need a guarantee that they will not be worse off working than they were on Incapacity benefit. The new incentive of a Return to Work Credit (p.36) seems a good move, although it is unclear what happens after the first 52 weeks. Will people then suffer a difficult drop in income?

There is a real need for more support for programmes which go across agencies. A recent NIACE research project on people with learning difficulties moving into employment (Making the Jump) revealed how the projects which were most effective in supporting people into employment were those that had the strongest links across agencies (Education, Health, Social Services, Personal Advisers etc.). However, support for such cross agency working is rare. When this interagency collaboration is not available disabled people can often end up moving from one course to another but never receiving the support they need to move onto work.

There has to be more recognition of the very different needs of disabled people and an acceptance that some people will have fluctuating conditions which may make sustained employment particularly hard. Along with this there is a need for targets that are not so rigid that they exclude people who can make very clear progress although not necessarily into permanent full- time work.

There needs to be greater financial incentive for individuals who will only ever be able to carry out part-time work. This would support them into work and encourage them to sustain their employment. This should be included in the measures to support more people into work.

The NIACE ‘Prescriptions for Learning” project found that for people with depression, heart disease and back pain it was key to build on the trust they have with their G.P and surgery staff to encourage them to participate in learning. People can be fearful of exacerbating their health condition and long- term health difficulties can erode confidence, motivation and energy, therefore a sensitive referral and reassurance that education can positively enhance health and well-being and be a step back to work is essential.

Individuals who want to return to the labour market will have varied hopes and ambitions but also face various barriers. Flexible individualised packages that recognise and build on individual strengths and motivations while supporting them to overcome barriers to participation is crucial. Individual packages of support need to be on-going with long-term action plans to help people back into employment.

Employers also need support in the form of information and advice on how to fulfil their duties under DDA. This would be particularly useful for small employers who (with Section 13 of the European Regulations which is currently laid before Parliament) will also come under DDA Part 2 in 2004. Some large companies (e.g. B &Q) have developed very positive ways of supporting disabled employees and the lessons learnt by them need to be shared with other employers.

Where there are existing examples of good practice of employers supporting disabled people, the Department for Work and Pensions could disseminate this practice. It could be shared with those working in the field to inform and encourage. NIACE has found it difficult to find examples of exemplary practice which could be used to encourage providers and learners.

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