Employment

The 2014 Care Act is clear about the requirement for commissioners to support disabled people to gain and retain work. Despite this, employment levels for disabled people are unacceptably low – and falling.

We believe this is because of two main causes:

Local authorities and the NHS spending money on the wrong type of employment supports
Low aspirations around whether disabled (and older) people can work, and so poor outcomes become acceptable

At NDTi, we are committed to the right of all people to engage in and benefit from real, paid employment. Employment offers financial rewards, the chance to use existing skills and develop new ones, self-respect and opportunities to contribute to and be valued by the community.

This applies to:

People with learning disabilities
People with mental health problems
Older people
Young people in transition to adulthood

We recognise that because of perceptions about ability, health, stage of life, support needs, confidence or history some people need highly skilled support to attain, maintain and fully engage in employment.

Employment may be working for an employer or being self-employed but all cases it means being paid the proper rate for the job and benefiting from the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as other workers.

We are able to offer a range of employment focused consultancy, service development and training supports.

In particular, by drawing on the evidence of what works, we can support commissioners and providers to increase local employment levels of disabled people through:

Reviewing local employment services against the evidence of what works, to recommend cost effective change strategies
Adapting personal budget systems so people use them to achieve paid work outcomes
Improving employment outcomes for young people through a focus on paid work throughout the transition into adulthood

Project leads the way in increasing the employment aspirations for young people with disabilities.

Three important resources have been launched this week that aim to help authorities, education providers and career advisers provide a more inclusive approach to employment for young adults following evidence that school leavers with special...