Mapping the employability landscape for people with learning disabilities in Scotland

Date: 23rd August 2016
Category: Disabled children

This research responds to the Active Citizenship priority to facilitate employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities by seeking to better understand the scale and effectiveness of employability support for people with learning disabilities in Scotland.

Scotland's learning disability strategy, 'The keys to life', seeks to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities so that they live longer healthier lives, participate fully in all aspects of society and prosper as individuals. Enabling people with learning disabilities to work is critical to achieving that vision. The Scottish Government and SCLD have commissioned a scoping exercise through the University of Glasgow TERU and Cambridge Policy Consultants to map the employability landscape for people with learning disabilities in Scotland.

This report details the findings, and includes conclusions and specific recommendations for a variety of stakeholders. Four key action areas have been identified. They include the need to:

- Overcome the low expectations held by parents, schools, colleges and employers;

- Gather data more effectively, investing funding where people with a learning disability in Scotland secure both employment and support to develop in that job;

- Use this data to invest in post-school funding into services that can deliver employment outcomes of 50% as detailed in the report;

- Recruit and train Job Coaches that can support people with a learning disability into employment and throughout their careers. Recognising Job Coaching as a profession that has quality standards that are monitored nationally.

• Download the full report here.