The Public Services Committee has urged the government to implement a number of recommendations to ensure young disabled people are better supported into employment.
The recommendations are laid out in a new report, Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people. The report makes a total of 36 recommendations for the government, including improving transparency on the Access to Work backlog and wait times, providing training for Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) and increasing the number of supported internships.
The report highlights the difficulties young disabled people experience when finding and retaining employment. Disabled workers are less likely to have a paid, secure job, with the current disability employment gap standing at around 30%.
Focusing specifically on the experiences of young disabled people in the transition from education to work, the inquiry found that barriers to employment start from the moment a young disabled person enters education. This continues through early years, primary and secondary school, and through to how they are prepared for work and supported during their transition from education to employment both within and outside the education system.
However, the authors say while the challenges are vast, they are not insurmountable and there are many effective ways of supporting young disabled people to succeed. This includes providing high quality careers education with clear, accessible information about the transition to work, and offering tailored support in schools and the workplace.
Unfortunately, these examples of good practice are not happening frequently enough, and the inquiry found that many of the good examples they came across are pilot schemes at risk of being scrapped.
As well as a persistent lack of good practice, the inquiry also found that education and careers services often set low expectations for young disabled people from a very early age, and when they have left school, employment services are failing to provide the tailored support disabled young people need.
The workplace itself also bought a set of its own challenges. The inquiry found that many employers do a great job of supporting disabled job applicants and employees, but too many disabled people still face discrimination in recruitment and the workplace, and the current enforcement framework is “simply inadequate”.
The Committee say the new Government has an opportunity to draw on good practice examples and deliver effective services that fully support young disabled people into work. Good careers advice, work experience, supported internship, and accessible apprenticeships are all key components to unlocking the doors to employment for young disabled people.
Employers also need to be trained so that they feel confident hiring and working with disabled people, as currently, many say they are afraid of ‘doing the wrong thing’ and as a result simply do nothing, resulting in them missing out on a pool of talented people.
Perhaps most importantly, the Committee says if we are to close the disability employment gap, attitudes must change.
“The presumption has to be, at every stage of a young disabled person’s development, that they are fully capable of thriving in work, as long as they have the appropriate support. Aspiration has to be at the heart of support for young disabled people. We need to Think Work First,” they conclude.
Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive for learning disability charity Mencap says people with a learning disability face unique challenges when it comes to employment, and the government must invest in improved employment support through schemes such as supported internships and training schemes.
“For too long, hundreds of thousands of people with a learning disability who are eager to work, to have independence, earn money and contribute their skills and passions to society, are being shut out of employment due to discrimination, inaccessible application processes, and a lack of support.
“We hear countless stories from people with a learning disability who say once they finish education it’s like ‘falling off a cliff’, with not enough support to help them transition into work. Without this support, too many people with a learning disability spend years applying for jobs with no success. Our research found that 86% of people with a learning disability not in work, would like a paid job. Everyone is missing out – people with a learning disability, employers, society and the wider economy,” he said.
“We need the government to invest in employment support that matches the aspirations of people with a learning disability. We want to see more supported employment programmes like internships, better tools and support for employers, and learning disability training for careers advisors. Everyone with a learning disability who wants to work should get the support to thrive in the workplace,” he added.
