What is supported employment?

Supported Employment has been successfully used for decades to support people with significant disabilities to secure and retain paid employment.

At its heart is the notion that anyone can get paid employment as long as sufficient support is provided.

Supported Employment should always be a flexible and continuous process, designed to meet the needs of both the customer and employer.

Model and words (summarised) supplied courtesy of the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE).

Visit the BASE website for full details.

1. Getting to know you
The first element of a successful job match is the vocational profiling or "getting to know you" process. Here we identify the aspirations, skills, experiences and job interests of our customer.

2. Employer engagement
The second and crucial element is the job marketing process.

We engage closely with our employers to overcome traditional recruitment and selection barriers. Employers are increasingly recognising the value of "working interviews" which allow individuals to demonstrate their skills in the workplace and allow the employer to gather the sort of evidence that a formal interview seeks to capture.

3. Job Matching
Once we have supported our customer to secure employer commitment, a job analysis is usually undertaken. This checks out any assumptions made in the job description and thoroughly investigates the job. 

It is important to determine whether extra assistance or alteration to working practice or environment is needed and helps to produce a better job match. The job analysis might point towards ways of carving together parts of job descriptions that suit the new employee's talents and are cost effective for the employer.

One of the outcomes of a job analysis is to make sure the needs of both the customer (support) and the employer (business) are met.

4. In-work Support
The fourth element is the actual job support and assistance. The job analysis ensures that support is properly considered and appropriate. Support is individually tailored and targeted where it is needed most, ensuring a cost effective use of resources.

5. Career development
Finally, not many people stay in the same job for the whole of their working lives and people with disabilities
are no different in wanting to improve their working lives. Supported Employment should encourage the career
development of individuals by promoting training opportunities and seeking opportunities for increased responsibility.