Supported Employment in Recession: What can we learn

from past events?

Dr. Stephen BeyerCardiff University

Recessions• Definition of recession– In the US a recession is defined as "a

significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real gross domestic product (GDP), real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.

– In the UK recession is broadly defined as two successive quarters of negative GDP growth

Recessions in the US

Recessions in the UK

Unemployment Rate- US

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

US

Perc

enta

ge

Recessions

US

Unemployment Rates- UK

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

UK

Perc

enta

ge

Recessions

UK

Unemployment Rates

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

UKUS

Perc

enta

ge

UK

US

Reces-sions

Supported employment growth-US

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

1988 1993 1995

SE

Jobs

Total Number of People Served by State IDD Agencies and Estimated Number Served in Integrated Employment

Total Number of People Served by State IDD Agencies and Estimated Number Served in Integrated Employment

12%

20%23.7%

US Growth: 1988-1995• Federal or central government investment stimulates change• Political liberalism at State level linked to State fiscal

commitment to SE services• Anti-discrimination legislation at State level• Extended leverage of State level funding by Federal funding• Impact of higher economic growth rates (rather than overall

wealth) • Integrated rather than “contracted out” specialised services (in

mental health)• A raft of employer mediated initiatives to support job

maintenance and retention, and government mediated policies, laws, incentives and grants

McGaughey & Mank (1999)

US Growth: 1996-• Intellectual Disability employment

stalled due to stand-off with sheltered employment

• Growth in MH through Individual Placement with Support (IPS)

• Sustained development of good practice evidence through research but significant differences in delivery across States

Growth in UK Supported Employment Agencies 1987-1995

1995Agencies- 201Est. Employees- 5084LD- 90.3%MI- 6.3%

UK Growth: 1988-1995• Local authority subsidy increases under development

projects such as Ordinary Life and Ordinary Working Life• LD reform strategies, such as All-Wales Strategy (1983-

1993)• EU funded pilot programmes

– Horizon– Leonardo– European Social Fund– ADAPT

• Availability of Training in Systematic Instruction and other training courses

Melling, Beyer & Kilsby (2012)

UK SE fundingFunding sources % of Agencies

Local authority 20%

European Social Fund 16%

Jobcentre Plus 15%

National Education Agency 8%

Charities/Lottery 5%

Wistow and Schneider (2007)

Growth in UK Supported Employment post-1995

• Intellectual Disability employment stalled despite Public Sector Agreement (PSA) 16- 6.4%-7.1%

• General employment growth for disabled people improving but hard to place who would benefit from SE (ID, MH, Autism) remaining low

• Increase in job coaching penetration through government funded project (Work Choices-Phase III) but of low intensity and “cherry picking” of clients

Differences in 1990s and 2000s

• 1990s- In the US and UK growth lead by:– availability of fiscal support– increases in community-based

supported employment services– in the US, the availability of University

technical assistance programs

Challenges of the “Great Recession”• Qualitatively different recession

– 1990, 2001 business confidence and private sector jobs fall-out– 2007/08 Government debt crisis, failure of investment and high

impact on public sector funding of services (impacting on support and jobs)

• Labour market has changed– Wage differences has led to subcontracting of manufacturing

capacity from developed to developing countries– Manufacturing accounts for 16% of total employment in the

EU15 (down from over 21% in 1995) and 12%– Levels of employment in routine, repetitive administrative jobs

have declined, replaced by ICT– Shock absorbed by reduced hours and wages, temporary

contracts

• Different responses to recession by UK & US governments

Differences in 1990s and 2000s

• 2008/10- In the UK Government has:– Cut local authority expenditure that still underpins SE

provision– Mixed messages on job coach funding

• Workstep Work Choices “Prime Providers” (fewer skilled providers?)

• Deletion of Work Preparation programmes• Increases in Access to Work

– Implemented public spending cuts that are likely to result in a loss of at least 600,000 jobs in the public sector

– Perhaps three quarters of a million jobs lost in the private sector, because of its reliance on work from the public sector

– Bank lending is compromised which has restricted investment, growth, and job opportunities still further

– Slower bounce back than previous recessions >4 years

Differences in 1990s and 2000s

• 2007/08- In the US Government has:– Increased Education financing for IDD career

development and employment– Increased some investment in Federal

employment strategies and some system change not seen since late 1990s

– Medicaid still available for employment (if poor take-up)

– Continued to pursue VR outcome based funding– Competing investment in Sheltered Employment

and Day Services still unresolved

SE processes impacting in recession• Intensive vocational profiling with job matching leads to

better job match and employer outcomes• Job coaching provides on-going problem solving and help

with retention of trusted disabled employees

Coutts and Riddell (2012),

• “Added value” service from SE increase competitiveness of disadvantaged people in a tight labour market– Disability awareness training– Mentoring programmes– Refining task processes

O’Bryan- Project SEARCH 2012 (Personal communication)

Job Coach support• Supervisors need to support job

coaches/job developers to believe job finding is possible

• Helping teams to pursue relationship marketing approaches with employers

• Using team meetings and supervision to maintain confidence and to overcome negative beliefs about labour market

Beyer (2012)

Employer relationships

• Hidden jobs– Heightened productivity

of (stressed) staff– Promotion from within

the company– People known to key staff– Referral from a co-worker– Previous people

contacting managers – HR Department – CVs on

file– Commissioned

recruitment agencies CVs on file

• Market said to account for 80% of jobs, and a greatest variety of jobs

• Fewer new jobs in recession but this market remains in place

• Requires more intensive and on-going relationships with employers and staff

• Job carving can assist in under-employment

• Caveat is impact of equal opportunity policies

Employer relationships• Transitional jobs

– Retirement– Maternity/paternity leave– Temporary workers for

high demand periods

• Internships– Structured approach to job

finding– employer engagement– Project SEARCH model of

education/SE/employer partnership

• Have been used to find a way into companies with a view to more permanent jobs

Employer relationships • In a recession fewer jobs are publicly advertised

– Pressure on HR by large volume responses– Advertising costs– Use of trusted conduits– More people know of unemployed candidates

• More emphasis on hidden or transitional job opportunities

• As growth returns, initial job opportunities will be in extending existing staff hours and wages

• Requires greater direct company networking and contacts

Re-recruitment/training is costly

Job retention over time- Single Parents

Well-matched supported employees can stay in jobs longer

6 agencies , 245 workers, from Beyer (2012)

1-3 months 4-6 months 7-9 months 10-12 months

1-2 years 2-3 years 3-4 years More than 4 years

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% of SE workers retaining jobs

Employers benefits of SE• Reduced employer recruitment costs• Reduced risk in recruitment

– SE a trusted intermediary who can match and support– Public sector have agreed 1st option on jobs to some commissioned

SE agencies

• In competition with more qualified people, added value to company helps level the playing field for supported employees– Supervisor training/mentoring development– Disability awareness and Diversity policy assistance– Cost savings through streamlining (Lean)– Increased coworker morale and productivity through mixed teams

• Workers who can accommodate fewer hours become more useful to employers where they have reduced staff hours in recession

Family preferences• Individualised approach by supported employment offers

reassurance to consumers in making a risky move into employment– Are assisted by longer term relationship with SE agency, ideally

through transition tasters– Need a credible response to natural concerns for people with ID

• Exploitation• Bullying• Danger at work or of abuse• Individual job match to job seeker motivation and skills• Accurate welfare benefit advice and assistance with Benefit Agency

including negotiation of Tax Credit and in-work welfare benefits• Continued involvement/oversight of person at work

Beyer et al. (2008)

Job seeker preferences• People with ID are more likely to enter paid

employment when supported employment:– Finds jobs people are motivated to do– Provides good training including help to be socially

included– Facilitates access to natural as well as formal

supports– Provides easy access to SE support while person in a

job– Facilitates career progression

Schneider & Wistow 2003

“Great Recession” Opportunities

• There has been significant employment growth in lower-skilled service jobs in a number of EU countries and in the EU as a whole

• One possible explanation is that growing wage and income inequality – caused partly by shifting employment favouring higher-skilled workers in recession – can generating demand for lower-level service sector jobs

• Some low-skilled service sector jobs that can grow due to low potential for mechanisation (e.g. personal care assistant, hairdresser, waiters)

• Increased demand (and higher wages) at the top of the wage distribution can create excess income, permitting higher levels of discretionary spending, boosting employment in such services.

Unemployment Rates

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

UKUS

Perc

enta

ge

Unemployment Rates

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

UKUSEU

Perc

enta

ge

Conclusions• To be successful we require:

– better supported employment technique– more intensive employer engagement– to support client choice with better job matching– an emphasis on job coaching models

• Equal rights means equal rights in recession also– there is some evidence that disabled people were 3 times

more likely to lose their job in the current recession

• Equality means access to appropriate support mechanisms for disabled workers, with funding

• In many countries this still requires a hard examination of current investment patterns across different employment models

ReferencesBell, N.E. and Blanchflower, D.G. (2010) UK UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE GREAT RECESSION. NATIONAL INSTITUTE ECONOMIC REVIEW No. 214 OCTOBER

Beyer, S. (2012) The Impact of Agency Organisation and Natural Support on Supported Employment

Outcomes. JVR, Volume 36, Number 2, 109-119.

Beyer, S. Goodere, L. and Kilsby, M. (1996) The Costs and Benefits of Supported Employment Agencies: Findings from a National Survey. Employment Service Research Series, No. 37. London: Stationery Office.

Beyer, S., Kaehne, A., Grey, J., Sheppard, K. and Meek, A. (2008) What works?- Transition to employment for young people with learning disabilities. Chippenham: Shaw Trust.http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/files/shaw_trust_summary_report.pdf

Butterworth, J., Smith, F., Hall, AC., Migliore, A., Winsor, J., Domin, D. and Timmons, J. (2012) StateData: The National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes 2011. University Mass.: UCEDD.

Coutts, P. and Riddell, S. (2012) Employers’ Views of Supported Employment for Disabled People in Scotland. University of Edinburgh: Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity.

Gidugu, V. & Rogers, E. S. (2012). Review of Employment Services for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Comprehensive Review of the State-of-the-Field from 1996–2011. Boston: Boston University, Sargent College, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

ReferencesHouse of Commons Committee of Public Accounts Sustainable employment: supporting people to stay in work and advance. Thirteenth Report of Session 2007–08.

Lister, T., Ellis, L., Phillips, T., O'Bryan, A., Beyer, S. and Kilsby, M. (1992). Survey of supported employment services in England, Scotland and Wales. Manchester: National Development Team for People with a Learning Difficulty.

Mank,D. and Grossi, T.A. (2013 ) Employment: Renewed Investments. INCLUSION AAIDD, Vol. 1, No. 1, 7–16.

McGaughey, M. & Mank, D. (1999) Empirical evidence of systems change in supported employment.http://www.worksupport.com/main/downloads/article4.pdf

Melling, Beyer & Kilsby (2012) Supported employment for people with learning disabilities in the UK: the last 15 years. Tizard Learning Disability Review, 16, 2, 23-32.

Schneider J. and Wistow, R. (2003) Users views on supported employment and social inclusion: A qualitative study of people in work. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 166-174.

Wistow, R. and Justine Schneider, J. (2007) Employment support agencies in the UK: current operation and future development needs. Health and Social Care in the Community (2007) 15 (2), 128–135.

Wren-Lewis, S. (2013) Labour productivity in the recession: why are the UK and US so different? Manly Macro, Feb. http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/labour-productivity-in-recession-why.html

Thank you

Contactsbeyer@cardiff.ac.uk

http://medicine.cf.ac.uk/person/dr-stephen-richard-beyer/

research