Evaluating and expanding 'Supported Employment' Models to Create Inclusive Pathways to Employment for Under-Represented Groups
Horizons Research Ltd
This project evaluates how Supported Employment models help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions find and keep paid jobs in NI, and it explores in comparative perspective how these models can be used to help support other economically inactive groups into sustainable employment pathways.
SE is a model that supports disabled people to find and maintain employment. Our findings from Phase 1 have shown that SE approaches have led to a range of positive outcomes for both disabled people and their employers, as well as a desire by employers and policymakers to further embed these models in NI. We also found that SE models have been used by other countries to support other groups.
This project will evaluate the effectiveness and impacts of existing SE services in NI, including the development of a Theory of Change to capture how SE leads to certain short and long-term outcomes. We will use this evidence to explore how SE models could be expanded to support other marginalised groups who face employment barriers, including young people, ex-offenders, women returning from caring responsibilities, and minority ethnic people. We will conduct a comparative analysis of how countries use SE models to support other groups, draw policy lessons for NI, and host action learning workshops with practitioners in NI, providing guidance and roadmaps on how to use SE models to create a more inclusive labour market.
The research is led by Horizons Research, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment and the University of Edinburgh. Research methods include: a review of the literature; the development of a Theory of Change; semi-structured research interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders; online surveys; and action learning and creative workshops with practitioners.
