Supported-employment practice in the UK: Evidence about an emerging occupational group

Abstract

Purpose. This paper reports the findings from a UK survey of 519 practitioners of employment support and rehabilitation for disabled people.

Method. A structured examination of where practitioners worked, who their clients were and what models they operated. It explored training needs, attitudes to disability and current practice in terms of an ‘adherence scale’ based on supported employment principles.

Results. Respondents were from a wide range of agencies, and the supported-employment model was common. The majority of respondents worked in the voluntary sector, where both perceived needs for training and adherence to supported-employment principles were relatively high. Staff subject to output targets were less optimistic about the potential of all disabled persons to work. There was a lack of confidence in dealing with benefits issues, changing structures and systems, and in delivering cognitive behaviour therapy, which has attracted much attention in the UK.

Conclusion. Our findings begin to remedy the lack of information about the individuals who deliver supported employment in the UK, and offer a comparator for similar enquiries in other countries. They raise questions concerning professionalisation and the role of government departments versus the role of the third sector; these issues call for further investigation.

Keywords:

• Employment
• disability
• rehabilitation
• occupation
• employment officer