Scottish Government

Effective Interventions Unit Moving On: Update Employability And Employment For Recovering Drug Users

Chapter 4: Employability and service providers

The first Moving On review outlined the range of programme types that are available to help people recovering from substance misuse to access education, training and employment. Programme types fall into three main categories of support:

• Treatment and rehabilitation services whose primary aim is to help an individual overcome problem drug use and the associated physical, psychological and social effects.

• Specialist employability programmes with specially targeted provision tailored to help those disadvantaged in the labour market (including recovering drug users) to improve their skills.

• Mainstream education, training and employment services designed to meet the needs of the general population (such as Jobcentre Plus, further and higher education or national training programmes). Most mainstream programmes will have had some contact with individuals experiencing drug problems and some have developed initiatives to address these needs.

The first Moving On review and the subsequent Guide to Partnership Working (EIU 2003) emphasised the importance of service planners and providers working together to address the range of needs of clients. Partnership working is also essential to prevent clients "falling down the gaps".

An individual may have contact with a range of programmes and services during the course of treatment, care and support. At each stage, there is likely to be an opportunity to help the individual improve aspects of their life and behaviour that will contribute to their future employability.

There are residential programmes that offer a holistic and comprehensive approach that combine treatment with personal and social skills development and lead through into employability provision including help with basic skills, vocational education and work placements.

For individuals who receive their treatment, care and support in the community, the likelihood is that they will progress through a range of services in different locations. As we identified in the first Moving On, our recent consultations suggest that service providers often remain anxious about their clients moving on in case they cannot cope with the transition. There is, however, evidence to suggest that clients do better when staff offer positive expectations of success (Brown et al 2001). It is difficult for providers to achieve a balance. The reality is that no single agency can meet all the needs of the individuals. They need the expertise and knowledge of other services. The Partnership Guide identifies the benefits that a partnership approach founded on co-operation and collaboration between all service providers will have for service users. These include:

• Removal of barriers to progressing towards stabilisation / rehabilitation

• Providing more consistent, co-ordinated and comprehensive care

• Access to a range of training, education and employment opportunities

The benefits for service providers include the ability to:

• Develop a 'whole person' approach

• Develop a better understanding of the range of other available services

• Recognise and utilise the strengths and areas of expertise of partner agencies

For DAATs and partner agencies engaged in planning and commissioning services there is the benefit of making the best use of available resources in their area.

Flexible pathways

The pathway followed by individuals may not be the apparently logical one. The expectation tends to be that drug users start considering their employability after they began addressing their drug misuse issues. However, it is important to recognise that some individuals choose a different route. The process of recovery may start by first addressing employability issues including self-esteem, life-skills and qualifications. These individuals may choose to access education, training and employability services before treatment services. Indeed, it is in the process of addressing training and employability issues that they may also want to tackle their substance misuse and begin a treatment programme. In order to enable clients to choose their preferred route to recovery, programme types need to be flexible and there is a need to ensure close partnership working between the range of service providers.

What does this mean for service providers?

Treatment service providers: There is some evidence that participation in treatment, and particularly length of time in treatment, improves employment outcome. Treatment providers are now recognising the importance of employability within overall treatment, care and support. A significant proportion of specialist drug services are now offering components in their programme that will help with employability. These include confidence building, personal and social skills development, anger management and basic skills.

Our consultations suggest that there is scope for treatment providers to develop greater awareness of the process drug users go through to become 'job ready' and the wider context of employability. For example, service providers could consider ways to make services more accessible to clients who are trying to combine treatment with education, training or employment.

Specialist employability programmes: The development of these programmes, particularly through the New Futures Fund, has been a major step forward for those who are "harder to employ". There seems to be further scope, however, to address the overall labour market situation and employers' needs and attitudes as well as individuals' assets.

Key issues are:

• finding ways to assess the "job-readiness of clients, perhaps in collaboration with employers

• creating links with employers - not just at the stage when clients are 'job ready' but also in helping to plan programmes and courses to ensure these fit in with employers' needs

• recognising that drug users are not a homogenous group and tailoring programmes to the needs of individuals.

• develop mechanisms for continuing support when clients move on to mainstream services or employment. Finding ways of providing support to employers is also important e.g. when a client is at risk of relapse, or has relapsed.

• exploring ways to measure success by looking at the 'distance travelled' by individual clients as well as by 'harder' outcomes such as going on to further / higher education or training, or gaining employment.

Mainstream education, training and employability providers offer the greater part of the available provision, particularly in more remote and rural areas. In recent years these providers have expanded their programmes and courses to improve access for disadvantaged groups. They can become more accessible to recovering drug users by, for example, offering taster courses at a range of 'safe' venues and allowing greater flexibility with attendance.

For many drug users attending college or a national training programme such as Skillseekers will be a stage in the pathway to employability. However, it will be important that staff have some awareness and understanding of the problems of drug misuse and the potential for students to have problems with confidence and motivation in a new environment. Here too, success could be measured by looking at the 'distance travelled' by individual clients as well as by 'harder' outcomes such as gaining qualifications or employment.