The Scottish Union of Supported Employment (SUSE) is the national representative body for Supported Employment providers and anyone interested in ensuring that disabled people across Scotland, have access to quality jobs with support to achieve success.
We bring organisations and people together to campaign, network, and improve the quality and impact of Supported Employment and employability services.
As the employability landscape continues to evolve, organisations face a pressing need to adapt and innovate.
We aim to drive meaningful change in the sector by:
- running innovative projects to help build the capacity of service providers and practitioners
- campaigning for quality Supported Employment provision and better services for disabled people
- supporting employers to make workplaces more accessible for disabled people.
We are committed to closing the Disability Employment Gap (DEG) in Scotland. Currently only 50% of disabled people are working, compared to 82% of their non-disabled peers. The Scottish Government have set a target to halve the DEG in Scotland by 2038.
This is a crucial time for our sector, with significant economic uncertainty and rising numbers of people economically inactive. Across Scotland, new No One Left Behind services are being developed by Local Authorities and we want to ensure that more disabled people get access to high quality Supported Employment services that will move them into work.
The History of SUSE
SUSE started in 1995 and, in our 30th anniversary year, we continue to play a leading role in the employability sector in Scotland.
Some of our significant milestones include:
- In 2010 we worked with Government to launch a Supported Employment Framework for Scotland, intended to ensure that providers are working to a consistent model and clients have a guarantee of a quality service.
- In 2015 SUSE delivered the Sum of the Parts project which built the capacity of the sector and developed the Inclusive Workplace Award for employers.
- In 2017 we played a leading role in the Scottish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on the Disability Employment Gap (DEG), which committed the Government to halving the DEG by 2038.
- In 2020 SUSE led the Disability Employment Gap Apt Public Social Partnership, which developed a blueprint for how employers can attract, recruit and retain disabled people. During the 4-year project we engaged with 278 employers, training 1618 employees, working with 67 partner organisations. The final Blueprint for Services was submitted to the Scottish Government in March 2024.
- Since 2024 SUSE has been working with Local Employability Partnerships to support the role out of No One Left Behind services, including Specialist Employability services for disabled people.
- We are currently working with members and people with lived experience to develop the Ease App, an innovative self-management tool that will support disabled people to retain employment.
We continue to be a credible voice with the Scottish Government, Local Authorities and funders. Each year we host events to bring together members, our network and employers, including our Annual Conference, Inclusive Workplaces Week Scotland and DuoDay. We continue to work in partnership with our members to undertake research and run innovative pilot projects.
