Scottish Government

Main Findings

• A total of 342 clients participated in the Careers Scotland Supported Employment Pilots in 2003/04, 146 of whom entered a supported employment opportunity of which 90 have sustained for at least three months
• Clients clearly value and benefit from the supported employment experience in many ways - in terms of soft and vocational skills and also in terms of developing a better understanding of the world of work and their options within it
• Client satisfaction levels are good and there is evidence of client progression - even in instances where the type of work undertaken proves not to be that ultimately sought by participants
• These benefits arise because clients value the employability focus of support and because the Pilots have succeeded in ensuring a high level of client ownership of the vocational profiling process - 36 out of 37 clients feel that they had a significant input contribution and as a result, placements reflect client wishes
• The Pilots have demonstrated the value of supported employment for Inclusiveness clients although more time is needed to assess the most appropriate models of support
• A barrier to progress has been a lack of clarity over the target client group and the absence of a workable definition of job readiness
• Working with employers has proved challenging for many of the Pilots although those operating through employer-facing intermediaries have fared better - there is scope for testing new approaches through Employer Services within Careers Scotland
• There is potential to build the skills and tools of the Supported Employment Adviser (SEA) into the remit of those staff carrying out Key Worker functions although some clients will always benefit from the more intensive support offered by organisations such as ENABLE and SHIRLIE
• The evaluation argues that there is a need for supported employment within the suite of options available to Key workers, that the model requires further testing and that greater attention be given to the role of supported employment in assisting Inclusiveness clients exiting training and education places.

Introduction

Following the establishment of the Inclusiveness Projects as a result of the Beattie Report it became apparent that a key barrier to the effectiveness of the Projects was the absence of 'intermediate' employment options for clients progressing towards employability.

To stimulate a greater number and variety of employment options, the Scottish Executive announced its decision to invite Careers Scotland to develop pilots to test out new approaches to assisting Inclusiveness clients into work. The Scottish Executive, Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department (SEETLLD) was particularly keen to see the development of supported employment options - a model not readily available to clients other than those with disabilities. Another priority for the Scottish Executive was to target support at care leavers.

Seven Pilots were approved in August 2002 (and an additional second Pilot in the South East Region, in November 2002) although in practice the projects did not become operational until December 2002 onwards.

Methodology

The evaluation was split into two phases. The first phase consisted of a short scoping exercise to enable the evaluation team to describe the various models under development. This initial phase included a review of the original submissions supplemented by telephone interviews with Pilot representatives and the findings were reported in August 2003.

The original methodology had included a telephone survey of employers. It became clear during January/February of 2004 that there were insufficient companies with experience of Supported Employment to make a telephone survey viable.

A revised approach was agreed with the National Evaluation Steering Group consisting of:

• case studies involving Supported Employment representatives, local partners and employers
• a small-scale survey of 55 clients undertaken by FMR, a social research company.

Demand

The National Evaluation of the Careers Scotland Inclusiveness Projects flagged up the need to expand the scale and range of follow-on provision for Inclusiveness clients. In particular, it raised concerns about the proportion of clients exiting supported training to become unemployed. The point was frequently made to us that many young people benefit more from employment situations than they do its alternatives.

Supply

The Pilots have not, as yet, delivered the level of supported employment outputs that had been expected. A total of 342 clients participated in 2003/04, 146 of whom entered a supported employment opportunity of which 90 have sustained for at least three months.

This does not reflect the full benefits however. Careers Scotland data shows that a number of clients exit the programme early but often into other positive destinations. Some of these additional benefits will be attributable to the Pilots.

Nevertheless, the supported employment Pilots are below target. The reasons for this include the Pilots coming to terms with the degree of instability in the lives of some clients and, for those Pilots focusing primarily on care leavers, the intensity of support required by many clients. Another factor has been the lack of clarity in terms of purpose and the absence of a working definition of 'job readiness' with which to inform referral agents.

Benefits

The Pilots have, nevertheless, demonstrated the value of supported employment for Inclusiveness clients. The clients clearly value and benefit from the supported employment experience in many ways - in terms of soft and vocational skills and also in terms of developing a better understanding of the world of work and their options within it. Client satisfaction levels are good and there is evidence of client progression - even in instances where the type of work undertaken proves not to be that ultimately sought by participants.

Some of the key results include:

• improved confidence and self awareness
• improved vocational skills including the use of IT
• enhanced presentation of assets for clients e.g. clients developing their own CV and having a better idea of what a job interview might be like.

These benefits arise because clients value the employability focus of support. They also arise because the Pilots have succeeded in:

• ensuring a high level of client ownership of the vocational profiling process - 36 out of 37 clients feel that they had a significant input contribution...
• ... resulting in placements which reflected client wishes (30 out of 37 clients described their placement as being the type of work they had wanted to do).

ENABLE

ENABLE, as a national organisation experienced in the delivery of supported employment, was commissioned by Careers Scotland to build the capacity of those involved in the Pilots in recognition of the specialist skills that would be required. The views of the consultees on the value of the support has largely been positive and where links have been developed at a local level support has been particularly effective.

Clients

A key barrier to progress has included the lack of clarity over the target client group and the absence of a workable definition of job readiness. As a result inappropriate referrals have been made and SEA time has been absorbed in the type of barrier removal work which Key Workers undertake. The focus on care leavers as a specific client group has also posed a significant challenge for some of the Pilots.

The lack of clarity over client group has allowed a focus on barrier removal work to emerge and, in some instances, the loss of a distinctive role for the SEAs. One way to refresh the role of the SEAs might be to more explicitly link supported employment within after-care arrangements for Inclusiveness clients exiting training and education.

Delivery Models

The Pilots have been a testing ground for new practice. The value of the vocational profiling process has been underlined. The Pilots have also modified the traditional supported employment model to better fit their own clients. A composite model of supported employment is emerging with characteristics and potential strengths which include:

• preparation for employment such as confidence building, careers guidance, job search and presentation issues
• opportunities for clients to engage directly with employers and to experience labour market features such as job interviews
• significant support in the initial, high-stress, phase of the placement such as accompanying the young person to work
• a less intensive form of job support than the traditional job coaching model which emphasises more discrete support by telephone and texting
• an individualised approach to engaging with employers
• an emphasis on after-care.

Working with employers has proved challenging. It is difficult for the SEAs alone to market supported employment to employers in an already cluttered market. Accessing the right type of placement at the right time has proven difficult. Emerging good practice would suggest that supported employment is best marketed as part of a suite of options according to the needs of business.

Those Pilots which have chosen to work through an intermediary have tended, once proper relationships have been established, to operate more effectively. The contribution of Employer Services within Careers Scotland may have much to offer here but has not been adequately tested through the Pilots to date.

Future Delivery

The evaluation has highlighted the value of supported employment. Systems are still at a very early stage, however, and we believe that the supported employment approach requires further development and testing before mainstreaming is considered.

Any subsequent development of the model should be undertaken with the purpose of exploring what and how supported employment contributes to the transformation of Careers Scotland as an employability agency with inclusiveness at its core. The evaluation has raised a number of issues which should be considered in light of this continuing transformation of Careers Scotland. These issues relate to the nature of the client group most likely to benefit from supported employment and how the model can be delivered in the context of client needs.

Recommendations

Our final recommendations are made with these issues in mind and include:

• there is a demand for supported employment in the context of Inclusiveness and its provision brings benefits for many clients - the 'testing' of the support employment approach ought to be continued
• the client group focus should be revisited and greater attention be given to the role of supported employment in assisting Inclusiveness clients exiting training and education places
• the evaluation has highlighted a number of areas where Careers Scotland should seek to strengthen existing provision in terms of;

• Careers Scotland should consider the scope for building the skills/tools of the SEA into the remit of those staff carrying out Key Worker type functions rather than continue with stand alone SEA posts
• some clients need more intensive support this is best provided by those organisations with a pre-existing track record and a close, ongoing relationship with the client group
• consideration should be given to the role of Employer Services in terms of marketing supported employment and also in developing approaches to encourage more inclusive recruitment and retention strategies within businesses.