John Hendrickson in the office

How we work

There are key stages we work through when we support someone into employment. These are detailed below.

Needs assessment

We work with people with learning disabilities to find out whether they would like to work, and what they would like to do.

Pre-work training and vocational assessment

Pre-work training covers the essentials of what work is and what it means to have a job. Having a job is something many people may take for granted, but some people with learning disabilities may not have explored the option. The training might cover:

We recognise that people communicate in different ways and tailor our training to meet people’s individual needs. We have developed specialist training materials, funded by Section 64, to support this work.

The pre-work stage may also include transport training. We work with people so they get used to using public transport. This training also includes working with care and support staff or family members. This is so they can also support the person into their new role.  This may also be done together with vocational training.

Vocational training

In some cases, people need vocational training. United Response’s supported employment team identify providers and support people to access the training they need.

Placements

The next stage is to match people to appropriate work placements.  Once we have found a placement, the supported employment team works with people on specific skills. These skills could be using transport, working with someone to learn a route, how to use a bus etc, practicing and timing the route etc.

The team also works with people to explain what the specific job involves. They often do this by breaking the job down into manageable chunks or looking at tasks in a different way to suit someone’s needs and preferred way of working or learning. This work is often done by dedicated Job Coaches

How we work with employers

As well as supporting the individual, we support employers to understand the needs of the people we support and to overcome any potential worries or problems. This way of working means that the placement has the best possible chance of succeeding. We continue this support for the duration of the placement.

Moving on

When a placement finishes, some people will be able to move to paid employment, either full time or part time. Others may move to further training or to more voluntary work, either in the original placement or elsewhere.  The supported employment service helps people to assess what’s right for them. We provide support in flagging up issues around benefit entitlements, other funding available to support people once they are in work (e.g. Access to Work) and to signpost other agencies who may be able to help. We also continue to support the employer.