We are pleased the Scottish Government has now responded to the Supported Employment and IPS Review recommendations. However, we are disappointed that there is not a firmer commitment to the recommendations, particularly relating to the Supported Employment Quality Standard and Guarantee and professional development of the Supported Employment workforce.
These reviews happened while the number of specialised services reduced, and while we recognise that Fair Start Scotland did support disabled people and people with long term health conditions, it did not provide the Supported Employment services that many disabled people need.
The Supported Employment Quality Standard and the Guarantee are key to getting the consistency of services that disabled job seekers need, wherever they live in Scotland.
In addition, there is still an urgent need to deliver better learning and qualifications opportunities for Supported Employment practitioners and create a career pathway for these skilled professionals.
Moving forward we are optimistic that local No One Left Behind (NOLB) initiatives can meet the needs of disabled job seekers but we are clear that this must include services which deliver the 5 stage Supported Employment model in every Local Employability Partnership (LEP) area.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with LEPs to implement the Supported Employment review recommendations as we believe these are essential to delivering successful Supported Employment services in local areas.
In the coming months, we will work with our members to engage with LEPs across Scotland to create more opportunities for disabled people to benefit from the 5 stage Supported Employment model – because we have evidence that it works.
