Finding and help in a job
Employment
Where possible everybody should have the opportunity to take part in the world of work through paid employment. Finding employment and entering the world of work is something many young people wish to do.
Careers Advice
Gaining skills
Help finding a job
Supported employment
Job coaching
Employment rights
Supported employment
Careers Advice
When you start to think about work and the types of jobs that interest you, it is helpful to talk to someone who is an expert in the types of jobs that are available in your local area, and who can support you in thinking about what might suit your interests and skills best.
In England, schools have a duty to provide independent careers advice to students from year 8 through to year 13. This could involve providing information and advice from a careers advisor, information on college courses, visits from employers or signposting you to websites and helplines. Colleges also provide careers advice and guidance.
The National Careers Service can help you make career decisions throughout your life. From deciding your education route, planning a career change at any age or getting the job that is right for you.
Gaining skills
There are different routes to finding employment that you can take.
You can register on job sites or with an agency which will give you access to different opportunities, or you could look for an internship or a supported internship, work and take a professional qualification or do a distance learning course.
If you are not sure about finding a job at the moment you may decide to look at developing your skills and experience further.
Skills assessment
A skills assessment can be helpful at any stage of your career, like when you:
- start your career
- return to work
- progress your career
Transferable skills are a set of skills that you’re good at. You can build them up over time, through work, volunteering, education and life. You can apply these skills to a range of jobs.
Discover your skills and careers
In this assessment from the National Careers Service, answer questions about the things you like to do or are good at. Understanding yourself can help you work out what careers you may enjoy working in.
This assessment:
- contains fewer than 50 multiple-choice questions
- takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete
When you finish, you will see some suggestions of roles you may enjoy based on your answers. You may want to explore careers based on these recommendations. You can compare different careers to see what interests you.
Help finding a job
This is the address of Job Centre Plus in Bromley:
Jobcentre Plus, Unicorn House, 28 Elmfield Road, Bromley, BR1 1NX
If your disability or health condition makes it difficult for you to attend Job Centre appointments, you can contact them first to ask what reasonable adjustments they can make to support you.
You can contact Jobcentre Plus and ask to speak to a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA).
They can advise you about job seeking, discuss how you can gain new skills and tell you about disability friendly employers in your area. They can also refer you to a specialist work psychologist, if appropriate, or carry out an ‘employment assessment’, asking you about your skills and experience and what kind of roles you’re interested in. Conditions to accessing this service apply.
When you are looking through job adverts and completing application forms, look for the ‘disability confident’ symbol which means the employer is committed to employing disabled people.
Employers committing to the Disability Confident scheme promise to:
- actively look to attract and recruit disabled people
- provide a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process
- offer an interview to all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for
The following organisations can also provide you with information about careers:
→ The National Careers Service
→ Career Pilot
→ Youth Employment
→ Bromley Youth Support
→ Bromley Well
→ Work Choice
Supported employment
Supported employment is an option if you are a young person who has left education and are ready to work.
Supported Employment is designed to help people with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities or mental health conditions or people who might have very little or no experience of work, to access and stay in a job.
Supported employment can include:
- Support to identify your aspirations, learning needs, skills, experiences and job preferences (with carers and support workers involvement)
- Support with practical job finding and job carving to ensure it suits your needs.
- An induction in the workplace and ongoing training as well as out of work support if needed
- A development plan to record your goals
- Support with career development beyond the programme
Bromley Mencap partners with the Council to deliver supported employment services, including Job Coaching.
Bromley Mencap’s Education and Employment Service offers a range of pathways where you can gain employability skills and provides training and support for disabled people to secure paid employment opportunities.
Job coaching
Bromley Mencap’s Job Coaching agency provides trained job coaches who will support you with any employment matters such as support at interviews, inductions, travel training, performance at work and training.
Employment rights
It is against the law for employers to discriminate against you due to a disability – The Equality Act 2010 protects you from this and also states that an employer has a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to avoid you being put at a disadvantage in the workplace compared to non-disabled people.
You can find out more about what the Equality Act says employers must do under this duty on the Citizens Advice website.
Further information
There are a number of national and local charities or organisations that have produced other resources of information that you might find helpful:
Disability Rights UK has information about applications and interviews.
National Autistic Society runs employment support services for adults.
Royal Mencap have produced four easy-read guides for job seekers with learning disabilities. The guides cover finding a job or work experience, application forms and CVs, going to a job interview and starting work.
Scope has employment tips and information about the law that protects disabled job seekers. Support to Work is one of the services Scope offers. It is an online and telephone support programme for disabled people in England and Wales who are applying for jobs.
Remploy is a provider of employment services for disabled people and those with mental health conditions. They deliver a range of programmes and you can chat to an advisor online or contact them by phone or email.