Treasure hunting – giving employers that competitive edge

"The initiative brings transformative benefits to the host business as they gain access to a new, diverse, talent stream with skills that match labour needs."

Employing people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is not just a matter of doing an honourable thing. With many sectors struggling with a skills gap, it makes simple business sense to explore this ocean of untapped potential. Claire Cookson, chief executive of DFN Charitable Foundation, outlines the opportunity that too many employers are missing.

Everyone deserves the right to aspire to the very best future – yet nationally only 5.8% of people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) go on to secure full-time paid employment.

At the DFN Charitable Foundation, our vision and ambitions are to eradicate the postcode lottery and ensure that everyone with an Education, Health and Care Plan has the opportunity to apply for a high-quality Supported Internship in their local area. To make this a reality, in June 2018, DFN Project SEARCH became one of the delivery arms of the Foundation.

That right to aspire to the best future is often denied to people with SEND, but our supported internship programme is already making a huge impact with 1,000 UK interns having moved into full-time paid employment. On average, over 60 per cent of our interns secure a full-time job (10 times the national average).

Our provision is creating opportunity and transforming outcomes for people with SEND by offering students a one-year transition-to-work programme in their final year of school or college. The programme is aimed at people whose goal is competitive employment. Interns remain on roll with their school or college but are based with a host employer full-time and participate in three department rotations throughout the 12 months to build skills, experience different roles and develop their career paths.

The support and learning network includes an onsite teacher and full-time Job Coach employment specialist, plus members of the intern's family, to create a joined-up learning environment and employment goal. Together they develop the support the student needs for their successful transition from education to work through continuous feedback and 800 hours of skills acquisition as they study for an employability qualification.

This is so much more than work experience. It is learning at it’s very best as interns directly use and apply their learning every day, ensuring they can make a smooth transition into the workplace and make a true business impact.

With up to 12 students in every intake, there is a 1:4 intern to staff ratio with further job development coaching and ongoing in-work support for graduates as required. Interns throughout the country are seeing the benefits of the innovative learning experience and the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the host business. They gain increased independence, confidence, and self-esteem, with structured support from instructors, job coaches and host business managers and mentors.

But the initiative also brings transformative benefits to the host business as they gain access to a new, diverse, talent stream with skills that match labour needs. Employees with SEND stay in jobs longer and take less time off sick while the productivity of colleagues improves. Our partners also tell us that working with us can dramatically improve performance and retention in high-turnover or hard-to-fill posts, whilst also improving the skill level of job candidates.

Further benefits include enhanced local, regional, national and international engagement and recognition through marketing of this unique programme.

We also believe that the valuable work we are doing at DFN Project SEARCH is having a positive impact on society. It is widely agreed that employment improves health and wellbeing. Transitioning people from education straight into competitive employment saves money for health and social care by around £2 million per person. Our graduates become net contributors rather than recipients of adult social care and health services.

Social justice is now being achieved for people who have been frequently marginalised from the world of work, and communities are becoming more inclusive and people with learning disabilities more visible.

Once a DFN Project SEARCH partnership is established, it is sustainable year after year and keeps delivering increasing numbers of full-time paid jobs and careers, raising community expectations, delivering talent for local businesses and improving the aspirations of people with learning disabilities.

It makes good business sense to partner with DFN Project SEARCH. Think of it in terms of Sigal Barsade’s Ripple Effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behaviour. Positive people improve team members' performance, group performance, reduce group conflict, create more co-operation and greater overall performance. If you do what you’ve always done, then you will get what you you’ve always got.

This is an incredible opportunity to benefit from a rich pool of untapped talent who will uplift and diversify your workplace. Think outside the box, explore how Neurodiversity can be a huge advantage for your company and be part of a journey that enriches and changes the lives of your work force.

* Clare is working with Warwickshire County Council to establish a Supportive Employers Forum in the county, which aims to create a positive network of businesses who offer work experience opportunities to people with SEND, or are interested in doing so. The next meeting of the Forum will be held in Nuneaton on 12th July - further details can be found here.