Apt - An Introduction

The PSP is focused on working with Scotland’s employers.

SUSE and Apt’s Partners will develop and deliver a range of innovative projects which enable employers to address the gaps in their knowledge and expertise and improve the employment prospects of disabled people. We hope to achieve a lasting culture change in our workplaces by addressing employer concerns regarding their legal responsibilities, embedding equality and diversity in workplace cultures and sharing our knowledge of reasonable adjustments and available support – to enable disabled people to take up and sustain paid employment.

Aim

Apt’s aim is ensuring that our services achieve real, sustainable, and significant improvements in workplaces.

Action

We will give employers the confidence to hire disabled people and build their capacity to retain, support and develop the disabled people they employ.

Approach

Apt’s approach is inclusive, supportive, and challenging.

We have:

• Established a knowledgeable, experienced consortium of organisations who will work together to deliver the PSP – 49 organisations have joined the PSP.
• Create workstreams that will develop innovative projects in areas that require attention – our new workstreams are (a) Delivery, (b) Development, (c) Under-Represented Groups, and (d) Experience Network.
• Developed robust workstream plans with clear deliverables, timescales and KPI’s.
• Created an effective Steering Group to manage the PSP, with input from employers and people with lived experience.
• Carried out extensive research into the issues that are preventing disabled people gaining and sustaining employment.
• Worked with champion employers and external partners and built a comprehensive network of stakeholders and supporters.
• Implemented extensive Social Media and Communications strategies to secure buy-in from employers and stakeholders.
• Regularly promoted the PSP’s learning, progression and successes, both internally and externally.
• Launched a number of pilot projects by March 2021 that helped employers attract, recruit and retain more disabled people.
• Delivered and monitored these pilot projects over a twelve-month period, gathering learning as we go.
• Carried out a full evaluation of the PSP, ensuring everything we have learned can inform future actions

We will continue to develop our successful pilot projects into commissionable services that can be funded by the public and/or private sector and work towards the development of a Centre of Excellence for Scotland’s employers.

Disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are at the centre of everything we do at Apt. By including people with lived experience in all aspects of the PSP, we inform practice, add credibility and create opportunities. Our  Experience Network are consulting on the design and development of pilot projects, delivering training to employers and working with them to test our ideas.

We want to work with Scotland’s employers, such as you, to provide fully-funded advice, support and training to improve the employment prospects of disabled people. We work with you to address any gaps in knowledge and expertise, then create and deliver an Action Plan. Apt’s Partners have vast experience in providing expert support for employers who want to achieve best practice and diversity in their organisation.

Apt are offering solutions that will make employers forward-thinking, confident and certain in their hiring choices. Ultimately creating workplaces that are diverse, inclusive and fair.

If you are a business that has commitment and enthusiasm to take the next step to developing and diversifying your workforce, then we would like to work with you…

• Increase the talent pool your vacancies reach
• Create a workforce that reflects the diversity of your customers
• Benefit from additional skills that are currently being missed
• Reduce employee turnover, saving money on recruitment and training
• Improve your corporate culture
• Tackle the myths associated with recruiting disabled people
• Easily implement reasonable adjustments
• Become a Diversity Champion
• Achieve all of this (and more) at no additional cost

Read more about how we would work together by downloading our Employer Guide to Working with Apt

For further information and to start the conversation, contact Amrit Bedi (PSP Development Manager) amrit@susescotland.scot 

This is a tailored process that is led by you and what you business requirements are, but you can expect:

• Fully funded advice, support and training
• Consultation and expert input from people with lived experience
• Collaborative approach with Apt and our Partners based on mutual trust, confidentiality and professionalism
• Bespoke action plan and recommendations specific to your business needs
• Guidance and materials to help you address any gaps in knowledge and expertise
• Choice of services and training options
• Recognition for your achievements, e.g. the SUSE Inclusive Workplace Award.

Examples of Training:

• Digital Accessibility and Accessible Communication
• Disability Awareness
• Mental Health in the Workplace
• A Guide for Managers
• Neurodiversity Awareness
• Disability Confident
• Reasonable Adjustments
• Hybrid Working
• Rethinking Recruitment

To start the conversation, contact Amrit Bedi (PSP Development Manager) amrit@susescotland.scot 

The Experience Network is the name for the lived experience workstream which is part of the Apt PSP.

The purpose of this workstream is to ensure people who have lived experience are at the centre of everything we do at Apt. The group is intended to bring a range of people with lived experience of disability or long-term health conditions together with people who have a passion for working with employers to develop their understanding of employing disabled people and having a diverse workforce. By including people with lived experience in all aspects of our work, we inform practice, add credibility and create opportunities.

We are recruiting for volunteers to become new members of the Experience Network. This is to ensure we have a diverse pool of people with varying and different knowledge and experience of being a disabled person in employment.

Find our more about joining the Experience Network and download our Guide: A Guide to Joining the Experience Network

Digital Recruitment Review

To carry out the next phase of the project we need to build on our current team of people who have lived experience to volunteer to be our testers.

We hope you can help us by either volunteering if you have lived experience yourself, or promoting the project to people who may like to get involved.

To get the most valuable learning from the user testing we need a diverse group of volunteer testers – including people who have physical or learning disabilities, autistic people and people who have experienced sight loss or hearing loss.

We’ll pay travel costs, can guarantee a good lunch (!) and will be as flexible as we need to be to ensure no one who wants to participate is excluded. We’ll also pay for any communication or other forms of support required.

The Digital Recruitment Review is a key element of the PSP and we hope you can help us carry it out to a high standard.

For more information read the  Digital Recruitment Project Description  We’ll be happy to discuss this with you further so please get in touch with Fiona Walker (Digital Communications Officer) at fiona@susescotland.scot if you need additional information or confirm your dates.

These training sessions have all now been delivered

This is an example of the training that has been delivered to employers over the last year. This list is not exhaustive and our Partners are keen to hear and develop other areas of support that you require, so please contact Amrit Bedi amrit@susescotland.scot if there is anything else you need that is not yet included on the list.

Example Content and Learning Outcomes

Autism Awareness

• Introduction to autism and common difficulties that people face
• ‘Reasonable adjustments’ and how to implement these
• Strategies to include and support people with autism

Learning Disability Awareness

• Introduction to learning disability and common difficulties that people face
• ‘Reasonable adjustments’ and how to implement these
• Strategies to include and support people with a learning disability

Significant Hearing Loss Awareness

• Introduction to significant hearing loss and common difficulties that people face
• ‘Reasonable adjustments’ and how to implement these
• Strategies to include and support people with significant hearing loss

Significant Sight Loss Awareness

• Introduction to significant sight loss and common difficulties that people face
• ‘Reasonable adjustments’ and how to implement these
• Strategies to include and support people with significant sight loss

Accessible Communication

• Accessible communication and why we need it
• Available resources when thinking about accessible communication
• How to create documents in an easy-to-understand format

TSI/ Supporting People in the Workplace

• Organising information for training
• Teaching strategies
• The values that underpin this approach

Responsibilities in the Workplace including Legal Responsibilities.

• Legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010
• Explore ways of making reasonable adjustments
• Other relevant responsibilities

Recruitment and Selection

• Improved knowledge of inclusive recruitment practices in relation to disabled people
• Recruitment policy and practice review
• Improved understanding of the needs of disabled people in relation to HR processes

Disability Equality Training

• Increased understanding of employing people with Learning Disabilities, Autism and Mental Ill Health
• How to identify and overcome barriers in your own workplace
• Understand the medical and the social models of looking at a disability
• Information on resources and available support

Creating Accessible Online Spaces

• Understand how to create accessible online spaces
• Understand barriers to access
• Ensure your digital content is accessible without needing to be an IT expert
• Topics include: Layout; Text format; Colour and contrast; Mouse friendly navigation; Keyboard friendly navigation; Complex images; Captions and transcripts; and Forms
• Ensure you have an accessible social media presence
• The guidelines set out by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• Available recommended resources to help ensure you stay accessible

Mental Health

• Increased awareness of mental health in the workplace
• Understand the concept of mental health first aid
• Understand the most common mental health conditions
• Increased awareness of workplace mental health support and reasonable adjustments

Long Covid

• Increased awareness of Long Covid
• Understand the impact of Long Covid
• Increased awareness of workplace reasonable adjustments and in-work support options

Young People with Autism/ADHD/Dyslexia

• Increased awareness of Autism, ADHD and dyslexia in young people
• Understand practical solutions and reasonable adjustments in the workplace
• Increased awareness of practical and financial support available

Reasonable Adjustments, Returning to Work and Agile Working After Furlough

• Increased awareness of reasonable adjustments
• Understand employer obligations under Equality Act 2010
• Understand simple workplace reasonable adjustments that can benefit everyone

Financial and Practical Support

• Increased awareness of Access to Work and who it can benefit
• Awareness of other supported employment schemes such as Kickstart, Community Jobs Scotland and No-one Left Behind

Assistive Tech and Communication for Disabled People

• Increased awareness of tech and communications equipment for disabled people
• Understand practical tech solutions such as voice-activated software, ergonomic computer peripherals, hearing loops and portable communications aids
• Increased awareness of financial support to cover the costs of assistive tech through Access to Work

Code RED: At Risk of Losing Employment on Medical Grounds

• Increased awareness of common reasons people may lose employment on medical/disability grounds
• Awareness of practical and financial support available to keep people in employment
• Awareness of agile working solutions to prevent job loss
• Understand the benefits of retaining disabled staff

Code GREEN: Want to Help Reduce the Disability Employment Gap

• Increased awareness of supported employment schemes such as Kickstart, Community Jobs Scotland and No-one Left Behind
• Awareness of agile and flexible working solutions in job design
• Awareness of recruitment and interview support available

Wildcard Q + A and General Overview

• Forum to ask questions not covered elsewhere
• Increased awareness of disability employment gap
• Understand the benefits of employing disabled people including reducing recruitment/turnover costs, loyal workforce and community benefit weighting for public tender contracts
• Understand the Purple Pound

Steps to Inspiring Young People with ASN on Work Placements

• Raised awareness of Additional Support Needs; how these affect YP; and the impact this can have on their opportunities
• How to engage with YP with ASN; demonstrate opportunities that may be available to them; and inspire them to plan their careers
• Advice on how to plan an interesting and impactful learning experience
• Advice on making reasonable adjustments within the workplace to support YP with ASN on work placements.

Rethinking Recruitment: Practical Interview Workshop

• Overview of inclusive recruitment practices and why these are important
• Preparation and Planning
• Reviewing job descriptions
• Communication with candidates
• Task identification
• Job Carving
• Mentoring/Coaching
• Reasonable Adjustments and a Reasonable Adjustments Passport
• Ongoing Support: Access to Work
• Case study review

Disability at Work

• What is disability?
• Disability statistics
• The models of disability
• Removing barriers
• Disability related language
• Disability and identity
• Working in an inclusive way with disabled colleagues

Inclusive Management

• What is disability?
• The models of disability
• Barriers and adjustments
• Best practice in disability and management
• Recognising when an employee may be facing a barrier
• Planning and holding conversations about barriers and adjustments
• Making adjustments for disabled employees

Defining Equality

• Broaden your knowledge of how Equality is defined in legislation

Historical Perceptions of Disability

• Understand historical perceptions of disability and how these differ to the present day

Acknowledging Differences and Diversities

• The importance of acknowledging differences and diversities when working in Social Care and how to do this positively within your role

Comparisons – Disabled v Non-Disabled

• Discuss comparisons in society between disabled and non-disabled people
• How these can impact the people you support

Social v Medical Models of Disability

• Enhance your knowledge of these different models of disability
• How these models can impact on the people you support and your practices as a support worker

Personalisation and Self-Directed Support

• Develop a basic knowledge of personalisation and self-directed support
• How this approach and legislation aims to have a positive impact on the lives of disabled individuals and the way they access and receive support

Support Planning (Health and Social Care)

• What is a Support Plan?
• What information should a Support Plan contain?
• Writing a good Support Plan
• Personalised goals
• Misconceptions of writing a Support Plan and how to avoid these

Recording Daily Notes (Health and Social Care)

• What is a record and why record notes?
• Principles of good record keeping and avoiding common mistakes
• Confidentiality, access and disclosure
• Information systems and storing information securely

Self-Directed Support (Health and Social Care)

• What is Self-Directed Support?
• Assessment and Budget
• What Self-Directed Support means for Support Workers
• Insurance, Taxation and Self-Employment

Disability Awareness (Health and Social Care)

• Increase your awareness of disability
• Broaden your knowledge of disability legislation
• Increase your knowledge of the social v medical models of disability
• Methods of communicating and interacting with people who have a variety of disabilities

Contact Amrit Bedi (PSP Development Manager) amrit@susescotland.scot 

By joining one of Apt’s workstreams you can…

• Demonstrate your commitment to inclusion and diversity
• Create a Centre of Excellence for Scotland
• Achieve recognition as a Diversity Champion

If you share our passion for creating opportunities for disabled people to secure and sustain paid employment, and you are interested in joining one of  Apt’s workstreams, then please contact Amrit Bedi (PSP Development Manager) amrit@susescotland.scot for an informal discussion.