How can we tackle low levels of employment for those with learning disabilities?

Learning Disability Week, June 19-25, put the spotlight on low levels of employment for those with learning disabilities. Mencap's Mark Capper explains how an initiative with PageGroup could offer a new approach to getting more people with learning disabilities into work.

Many employers will feel awkward and unsure when confronted with learning disabilities. We can understand this - often, what we do not know can be hard to interact with.

However, at Mencap we have worked with hundreds of employers and thousands of people with a learning disability looking for work.

The barriers for people with a learning disability to find paid work are huge, but for employers there are significant benefits to those that think differently about who they employ.

The latest figures show that there are less than 6% of people with a learning disability known to social services in work. That figure is woeful, and when combined with the fact that it is actually a decrease, it shows just how bleak the situation is for someone with a learning disability looking for work.

That is why Mencap has partnered with ENABLE Scotland and worldwide recruiters PageGroup to offer a new approach to getting more people with a learning disability in work.

Through our own employment programmes, Mencap works with thousands of people with a learning disability who want to find work, every year.

Confidence and independence

We have been successful in placing people with a learning disability into some fantastic jobs, including at Kew Gardens and Legoland.

The people with a learning disability we work with tell us how much their new job has helped them build confidence, become more independent, and has given them a sense of self-worth. Employers tell us how much value people with a learning disability have brought to their company.

Despite this, many employers are reluctant to take on people with a learning disability. That is why our partnership with PageGroup feels so important.

We hope that by introducing PageGroup's wide pool of employer contacts to the greatly overlooked talented workforce that is people with a learning disability, more people will have the opportunity to experience the pride and self-worth that having a job brings.

People with a learning disability tell us they want to work, to contribute to society, to earn their own money. But one of the biggest barriers preventing them from finding work continues to be negative attitudes.

"Learning disability" is a phrase that many employers, and members of the public, regard with fear. Lack of understanding of what a learning disability is means that, rather than engage, employers shy away from the "risk" of taking on someone with a learning disability without considering how beneficial it could be for their company.

Better retention

As part of Learning Disability Week, we commissioned a research review that proves what we have been communicating to employers for many years - that staff with a learning disability can lower recruitment costs by staying in jobs longer and having fewer sick days. Employees report improved staff morale and there are significant reputational benefits from a public that would prefer to give their business to companies employing disabled staff.

One of the key aspects of our partnership with PageGroup is the opportunity it gives people with a learning disability to benefit from the expertise of their recruitment consultants.

We have already hosted skills-sharing workshops where recruitment consultants worked with people with a learning disability to provide one-on-one CV writing and interview skills.

One candidate was preparing for an interview the next day and said the session helped him gain a huge boost of confidence - something he had struggled with before.

Mencap will also work with PageGroup to raise awareness among its network about the need to make the application and recruitment process much more accessible.

Our work is all based around breaking down barriers so that people with a learning disability are given the opportunities they need to demonstrate their skills and get employers to understand how having an employee with a learning disability is not the risk that many believe it to be.

For people with a learning disability, having a job goes much further than being able to earn money. It means the chance to be a valued part of a society that all too often excludes them. It means the chance to move away from a life of isolation and living on benefits, to meet new people, make friends, learn new skills and be part of a team.

This is something that everyone should be able to enjoy. Instead, there are a number of barriers stopping so many people with a learning disability from having this opportunity.

Mencap, ENABLE Scotland and PageGroup are determined to improve opportunities for people with a learning disability and ensure that employers throughout the UK know about the pool of talent that is ready and waiting to work.