“Disabled people face continuous barriers to securing long-term employment. This starts from the moment a young disabled person enters nursery school and continues through their preparation for work and their transition from education to employment. We have to start with the presumption that young disabled people are fully capable of thriving in work, as long as they have the appropriate support. Aspiration and ambition have to be at the heart of this support. At every stage of the young disabled person’s development, and in all of the services they interact with, from nurseries and schools to job centres and employers, we have to Think Work First.” Think Work First report House of Lords Public Services Committee
In May 2023, the House of Lords launched an inquiry into employment and career support for young disabled people leaving education and entering the job market and workplace. They invited evidence about good and poor inclusive employment practices, support in the transition to employment, careers guidance services in education, employment support programmes, and information on how interlinked these services are, or could be. The committee also held oral hearings and visited a work placement scheme at Whipps Cross Hospital that informed the inquiry.
Published today, their report, Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people, sets out a “blueprint” for the Government to implement its commitment to create cohesive and effective support for young disabled people and employers. There is a BSL video here of the report
What did the report find about disabled young people and work?
The inquiry found that young disabled people face significant challenges and barriers during the transition from education to employment. At every stage of their journey, they face bureaucratic obstacles, discrimination, and a lack of understanding as they navigate a world that is designed for non-disabled people. As a result, this period of their lives is often difficult, with negative experiences affecting their capacity to secure meaningful employment.
We have previously reported that the transition support system for learners who have Special Educational Needs & Disabilities is entirely broken. The current system makes it very difficult for young people to find information about options for the future, and there are few opportunities for young people to follow their aspirations for a future career. We support calls for the Government to boost support from the earliest years.
However, the report says innovative and exceptional services do exist and are achieving outstanding results, but far too many systems and services lack resources, aspiration and expertise. Similarly, some employers are doing outstanding work to make their workplaces accessible and inclusive, but far too many disabled people still face discrimination both during recruitment and in the workplace.
Low expectations, low levels of employment for disabled young people
One of the key findings is the low expectations for young disabled people from a very early age. Young disabled people may be written off as not needing careers advice through a mistaken perception that they’ll never be able to move into work. One respondent to the inquiry, Laura Davis from BASE described a visit to a nursery setting:
“They were having conversations with these little people, aged three or four, about what they want to be when they grow up. There was a boy in the room who said he wanted to be a bus (sic), and nobody questioned that, which is fine, but they skipped over the little girl with Down’s syndrome. They did not ask her.”
These low expectations continue through a child’s journey in education. They encounter a lack of ambition, a lack of disabled role models (including teachers with disabilities), a lack of work experience and tailored careers advice, as well as curricula, courses and qualifications that are not meaningful and do not lead to employment.
Even when their parent is dedicated and determined, it can take years to get anywhere, as this BBC article shows
Disability employment gap with discrimination commonplace
Only 4% of learning disabilities currently have jobs, and national data on the outcomes of people who have learning disabilities is limited. They further described an enduring ‘disability employment gap’ where 30% fewer disabled people are in work than non-disabled people—a gap that has remained consistent over the last decade.
The inquiry found poor quality support from job centres and employers who are frequently unwilling, or feel unable, to bring disabled people into the workplace. There are challenges in securing the equipment and resources disabled employees need to succeed at work. The report says ‘…many employers remain scared of ‘doing the wrong thing’ and find it simpler to do nothing, missing out on a pool of talented people.’
For those who have been able to secure work, discrimination in the workplace is also common, with disability discrimination being the most prevalent form of discrimination in claims made to Acas and employment tribunals.
“We have to change this”, says the inquiry report. Instead of writing people off, educators and employers should re-evaluate what young disabled people can accomplish and consider the benefits of employing a disabled person. These include a more representative workforce and learning to communicate differently throughout the organisation.
The “postcode lottery” of good practice
Several examples of good practice are included. The report also highlighted opportunities for further development to move away from a “deficit” approach and low expectations, and to remove barriers that currently stand in the way of disabled young people securing meaningful work opportunities.
These examples included:
- vocational profiling,
- accessible CVs,
- supported internships and
- work programmes such as ThinkForward, which empowers young people through coaching, and DFN Project Search.
This DFN Project Search supports young people with learning disabilities in over 200 settings, including 68 hospitals. One college has developed free training for employers that “talked about supporting young disabled people in the workplace”, including the language to use and how to make reasonable adjustments. Some bodies such as Chambers of Commerce are providing support to employers to introduce inclusive employment practices. Indeed, many employers already do a great job of supporting disabled job applicants and employees, but this is not widespread.
We’ve previously reported on the Down’s Syndrome Association’s WorkFit programme and the opportunities available through supported internships. However, take-up of some programmes has been poor and inconsistent across local areas.
The report suggested widespread opportunities for learning from and expanding these examples of good practice so all young disabled people can be supported in their journey to employment, and so more employers can introduce inclusive employment practices.
The importance of listening to disabled young people
To deliver meaningful change, any reforms need to be informed by the lived experiences and opinions of disabled young people. Young people told the inquiry that government programmes “are not in line with or aware of the reality of the barriers that disabled people face”.
“The Government needs to listen to people like me. Just because I do not speak does not mean I cannot make a contribution to society. Autistic people like me feel as if we have no value to the workplace and it is hard for us to make a meaningful contribution unless we are heard.” Disabled young person
A summary of the report’s recommendations:
- At every stage of a young disabled person’s development, presume they are fully capable of thriving in work, with appropriate support.
- Involve disabled young people in designing and shaping the services that support them.
- The Government should make vocational profiling a standard part of school careers information, advice and guidance for young disabled people.
- The roll-out of supported internships should be continued, especially for those with the highest support needs.
- Review and improve the support that young disabled people receive while in education, and the Government must also properly support local authorities to deliver EHCPs, both in terms of application timelines and the robustness of decision-making.
- Mandatory in-depth special educational needs training for careers advisors
- Increase awareness of workplace disability rights both among disabled people themselves and employers, including the need to make reasonable adjustments.
- There is an urgent need to put in place the systems and structures necessary to tackle and remedy workplace discrimination.
- The Government’s review of post-16 qualifications must consider and prioritise the impact that reforms will have on young disabled people.
- A commitment to delivering work experience is needed.
- Increase accessibility of apprenticeships, including those disabled young people without an EHCP.
- The Government should take steps to ensure employment support services such as Jobcentre Plus and National Career Service facilities are fully accessible for disabled people.
- There needs to be greater awareness of the Access to Work scheme.
- Urgent reform of the Employment Tribunal System to proactively support disabled people is needed.
The Government is expected to respond to the report’s recommendations by 15 December, and the Inquiry Committee have requested progress reports on the implementation of its recommendations from March 2025 onwards.
Also read:
- Supported Internships opening doors to employment for young people with SEND
- Should we ‘mind the gap’ of disabled pupils’ attainment? Or is it really an indictment of how success is measured?
- How H&M and WorkFit helped my daughter who has Down syndrome gain purposeful, paid experience of work
- Making Supported Internships work so young people with learning disabilities and autism can thrive
- Post-16: mental capacity and the SEND Tribunal
- The stark inequalities of social mobility of disabled young adults in England
- Growing up disabled: Puberty, privacy & positivity with Siena Castellon and George Fielding
- The next government must act to flatten the support ’cliff edge’ as young people with SEND become adults
- Book Review: Why a Life Plan is the Best Plan For Disabled Young Adults
- Why Preparing for Adulthood outcomes, from the earliest years, must be an integral part of the new national EHCP template.
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