A profile of employment officers for disabled people
Richard Wistow, University of Durham
Co-author(s): Justine Schneider, University of Durham
Abstract
This research looks at the practice of an emerging profession, people who provide employment support to disabled people. It is funded by the Department of Health under the 'Valuing People' initiative to promote employment for people with learning disabilities.
Method
Thirty people with learning disabilities who were in paid work were interviewed about their experiences of work; what was good or bad about it, what they earned and how people treated them. On the basis of this information, relevant prior research and input from our Project Advisory Group, we designed a questionnaire. This was sent out to over 3000 individuals in England, Wales Scotland and Ireland, whose names were gathered through extensive searching and networking. Over 600 replied.
Findings
Our findings cover: the type of employer organisation and working setting Employment Officers operate within; the disability groups they work with and the size of their caseloads; what level of qualifications Employment Officers have attained; the frequency our sample practiced 39 employment support related activities, and how much they felt the need for training in each of these areas. By taking a Bayesian statistical approach we are able to explore job quality through what the Employment Officers surveyed told us about their most recent clients, 1400 in total. We also have data on the samples' attitudes to social inclusion through employment.
Implications
The universal availability of such services and practitioners as found in supported employment would help to not only improve the 'life chances' of disabled people, but to change the overall environment in which we all operate. We have seen a change from policy that was handicapped by its understanding of disability, to policy which is currently disabled in its ability to deliver on its vision.