SUSE Annual Conference 2019

Karen Motherwell of Haven Products and SUSE Board Member shares her experience of the SUSE Conference here

Quality Street – Road to Supported Employment

In our workshop we used our Quality Street chocolates as a prop to help people consider the 5 stages of Supported Employment and how many of the stages their organisations used supported people

The 5 commonly recognised stages of Supported Employment are:

• Employment Planning
• Job Match
• Job Analysis
• Job Coaching
• On-going Support

The workshop hosted 30-35 people who represented between 15 and 20 different organisations.  Most of those who took part said that their organisations delivered all of the 5 stages.

We then discussed the use of Systematic Instruction, a proven, tried and tested way of working that is value based and works best for people who are removed from the employment market.

The final part of the workshop asked people to dream, and think about what they hope Supported Employment would look like in 2020!

Dreams

To:

• Devolved Access to Work – Local Funding.
• Flexibility and continuity.
• Support kicking in before paid employment.
• “True” Joined up support following the worker.
• Clear pathway/journey for individuals receiving support.
• Employers provide job coaches.
• Every employer will know about supported employment.
• Inclusive working environments.
• Access to work funding for training – employability programmes.
• Individualised support that is person centered and not based on organisation’s needs.
• Diverse aware inclusive employers.
• Core sustainable funding (security).
• Full support for IPS programmes – including funding.
• Accessible job coaches via Access to Work.
• Employers are educated.
• Accessible jobs.
• Mandatory supportive employment training and standard.
• A career that they chose.
• Ambition – aspiration building and post.
• Flexible employers with Access to Work and reasonable adjustment process.
• Everyone has access to the right support at the right time for as long as it is needed and can access it intermittently as needs fluctuate.
• 10 years guaranteed funding.
• Every work day has a welcoming and understanding work culture.
• Mentoring opportunity for employers and job carving (staged).
• More secure funding from government and councils.
• Money from government.
• Changing employer policies and practices.
• Everybody gets the ongoing support they need.
• Network providing supported employment of trainers providing support to employment and exchanging good practice.

What next?

All of the participants were given a postcard and asked to write something that they could do when they went back to their own organisations.

The postcards were collected and all participants will be contacted to remind them of their statement by 30th June 2019.

If anyone is interested in Systematic Instruction training or an evaluation of their service you can contact Values into Action on:

0141 212 3395 or info@viascotland.org.uk 

A Fairer Scotland: Putting strategy into action for people with disabilities
Facilitator: Julie-Ann Bilotti – Scottish Government

The Scottish Government have published their action plan setting out the actions to meet its ambition to at least halve the disability employment gap in Scotland. This workshop will explore how SUSE members can support delivery of the actions.

Workshop aims:

• Understand the next steps to implement the action plan.
• Explore how SUSE members can shape opportunities and overcome challenges.
• Take away ideas, contacts and impetus to get ahead of the curve.

Presentation:  A Fairer Scotland: putting strategy into action for people with disabilities

Putting Care into the Workplace
Facilitators: Pamela Graham and Jenny Ferguson, Staf (formerly Scottish Through Care and Aftercare Forum)

This workshop will demonstrate why building effective relationships in the workplace can support care experienced young people into work. By adopting a human rights-based approach to their work, Staf have pioneered co-production with young people with care experience to shape services and achieve success.

Workshop aims:

• Participate in activities which identify the barriers faced by this group of young people when looking for work.
• Gain an understanding of the issues care experienced young people face and how these can be successfully addressed.
• Understand the relationships and partnerships that support care experienced young people to enter employment.
• Establish links with organisations that support care experienced young people.

Presentation: Putting Care into the Workplace – to follow

Social and Supported: Enterprising Routes to Employment
Facilitator: Pauline Graham, Social Firm Scotland

Scotland’s leading role in social enterprise has opportunities and challenges for supported employment services and the employability of people with disabilities. This workshop will help you navigate that landscape and help shape the key asks of both Scottish and UK governments for action.

Workshop aims:

• Gain a better understanding of the social enterprise landscape in Scotland.
• Creating connections between participants and employability providers.
  Learn about how social enterprise can support implementation of the Fair Scotland Employment Action Plan;
• Ideas for action for supported employability and social enterprise development and joint working such as volunteering, skills and training and employability pathways to fill the provision gap.

Presentation: Social and Supported: Enterprising routes to employment

A beginners’ guide to creating accessible websites
Facilitator: Garry McCann, Cole AD

With a range of platforms and devices to enable access to the internet, getting your digital presence noticed is challenging for many organisations. This workshop is led by an experienced digital creator who will explore what is meant by accessible design for the internet, the impact it has for users and what you can do as organisations to create more accessible websites in the future.

Presentation: A beginners’ guide to creating accessible websites

Getting your slice of the cake
Facilitator: David Smart, Smart Consultancy

Inclusive Growth is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s sustainable economic development strategy, but what does it mean in practice for SUSE members? Will ‘disadvantage’ displace disable people unless we embrace this approach? David Smart outlines what you need to know and how to develop your own approach. A highly interactive workshop that will give you food for thought.

Workshop aims:

• Gain an understanding of the Inclusive Growth agenda in Scotland.
• Explore how to break down the barriers to inclusion in economic activity.
• Ideas for practical application of the Inclusive Growth approach to stimulate innovation and create opportunities.
• Learn from case studies of employer engagement opportunities and how you can make the Inclusive Growth agenda work for you.

Presentation: Getting your slice of the cake

No One Left Behind, Ensuring the System Delivers
Facilitator: Derek Russell, Scottish Government

The signing of the Partnership Agreement between Scottish Government and COSLA marks a new era for integration and alignment of employability services and this workshop will explore the latest thinking on how this can be taken forward. It will give you the opportunity to make your voice heard about how both governmental levels can tackle the disability employment gap.

Workshop aims:

• Help to shape the government’s thinking on future commissioning arrangements, giving consideration to small and local providers;
• Feed in your views on how public services can be shaped to reflect the needs of the user with a particular focus on meeting their life and employment aspirations.

Presentation: No-one Left Behind, Ensuring the System Delivers

Getting it right on sensory loss
Facilitators: Teri Devine, Action on Hearing Loss; Janis McDonald, Deaf Scotland; Richard Baker, Royal Blind; Nigel Townley, RNIB Scotland

This practical workshop explores how we can ensure people with sensory loss are not left behind in the development of employability services. With the commitment to halving the disability gap, what should the future look like? What needs to happen?

Workshop aims:

• Gain an understanding of the needs of people with sensory loss.
• Learn what works in, taking a person-centred approach to success.
• Appreciate the challenges within existing service provision.
• Join the call to action to implement Fair Scotland Disability Employment Action Plan for people who experience sensory loss.

Presentation: Getting it right on sensory loss

Quality Street – involving people in service design
Facilitators: Jorden Allen, David Ross and Catherine Hurrell, VIAS

This workshop will demonstrate what life can look like for people with learning disabilities and autism, with good support whether in supported employment or other areas of their life. In this evidence-based workshop we will explore how you can involve people in service design to meet their needs. There will be an opportunity through a group activity to share practice and personal experiences and identify what still needs to be put in place to offer services which meet peoples’ needs.

Workshop aims:

• Develop an approach to participant involvement in service design and delivery.
• Explore where you are on your journey to delivering person centred employment services.
• Learn about the real-life experiences and benefits for people with learning disabilities and autism of entering employment.

Presentation: Quality Street – involving people in service design

Making self employment work
Facilitators: Ashley McCloy, Enterprise Mentoring CIC and Rachel Wallace, Scotland Can Do

In this challenging and liberating workshop, Ashley and Rachel will provide an update on self-employment support in Scotland for people who have disabilities. Enterprise Mentoring are researching a new supported self-employment model in partnership with the Scotland Can Do initiative. This workshop will encourage delegates to explore self-employment options when working with clients to develop their employment goals and action plans.

Workshop aims:

• Gain an understanding about self-employment provision in Scotland.
• Explore a rights-based approach to self-employability options for disabled entrepreneurs.
• Learn how to introduce self-employment into your conversation about future option and encourage jobseekers to “think business”.
  An introduction and opportunity to join the Scotland Can Do initiative.

Presentation: Making self-employment work