Supported employment is about supporting people with a wide range of disabilities or learning difficulties find and maintain employment. It’s person led meaning our Employment Support Workers follow your lead on what they want out of Employment. This approach has been proven to be better suited in supporting a more diverse range of people including those with learning disabilities, autism and other needs on their Employment Journey. It also has a focus on creating strong working links between Employment Support Workers, Employers and potential Employees to offer assurance and support every step of the way.
Supported Employment has five phases which are there to support both Employment Support Workers and the people coming to use the service on what they need from the model.
Phase 1: Engaging jobseekers
Supported Employment is about ensuring that anyone looking for support into Employment is aware that services such as us exist. To find out more about our Supported Employment service please visit our Working Well Trust Kingston page located here We also create a range of publicity materials including leaflets to ensure people can find where we are and get in touch for support.
Phase 2: Vocational profiling and action planning
Once referred and that first meeting booked in the Employment Support Worker sits down with you to get to know one another, discuss goals and expectations before agreeing on how you will proceed. This discussion is Person lead and results in the creation of both a Vocational profile detailing what you wish to get out of the service and an Action Plan to work on the best way to make this happen.
Phase 3: Employer Engagement
Employer Engagement of EE is about going out into the community and meeting Employers to see the best way of supporting you into Employment. This can be done in person, on the phone or online but regardless it’s still with the same result in mind. Building stronger working links with Employers to support people into work. You can find out more about how we approach Employer Engagement here
Phase 4: Job matching and securing employment
Working with you the Employment Support Worker now supports you in applying for the roles you’re after. Thanks to Employer Engagement they you will know of any relevant job vacancies out there. This might involve support around updating your CV, if you need any reasonable adjustments for an interview or even if you need to practise before hand. Whatever helps you to secure the role.
Phase 5: In-work support and career development
With the role secure the Employment Support Worker now works with both you and the Employer to ensure their newest member of staff is fully supported in the job. This might cover reasonable adjustments, securing of additional equipment to help them in their day to day tasks or offering career advice to make sure they flourish in their role. The Employment Support Worker isn’t just there to help you get the job you want but to make sure you can thrive there as well.
Find Out More
Supported Employment is employed across the country supporting people from all walks of life find the job they want. To find out more about this form of employment support you can visit the website for the British Association of Supported Employment (BASE)