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Working Well: Specialist Employment Service


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The employment rate of disabled people is one of the most significant inequalities in the UK today. Amongst these, people with learning disabilities and people with severe mental illness have the lowest employment rates, whilst the employment rate of autistic adults is also low. People in these groups want to work and more could work with the right support. Previously, access to suitable employment service provision in Greater Manchester was limited, so in response GMCA set up Working Well: Specialist Employment Service (SES).

The Working Well: Specialist Employment Service (SES), currently delivered by Pure Innovations in Partnership with PossAbilities, will provide access to specialist employment support for up to 1,500 residents between August 2020 and September 2024.

The £4.6m service brings together investment from the Mental Health Transformation Fund, the European Social Fund, and the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester with one Clinical Commissioning Group.

Working Well: SES has two strands, Supported Employment, which provides employment support for people with a learning disability and/or autism, and Individual Placement and Support, which provides employment support to people with a severe mental illness. The offer is an evidence-based model designed to support people with complex disabilities and health needs access and sustain paid work in the open labour market.

The model is a shift away from a ‘train and place’ model that focuses on job readiness, to a ‘place then train’ one that focuses on engagement with employers to make the job possible. Employer engagement and working with employers are critical components of the Supported Employment and Individual Placement and Support models. 

Referral routes are as follows:

  • Supported Employment: Adult Social Care Teams, Disability Employment Advisors at the Jobcentre Plus or SEND Education Providers

  • Individual Placement and Support: Secondary Care Mental Health Teams

Please note referrals to this programme have closed.