‘INSPIRING YOUNG DISABLED PEOPLE’ MOTIVATION Young disabled people are nearly four times more likely than their non-disabled peers to be unemployed. [1] People with learning and physical disabilities have the lowest prospects of securing long-term employment. [2] At the age of 16, young disabled people hold the same aspirations to find fulfilling careers as their non-disabled peers. Yet as they get older, this changes. [3] Young adults who recalled 4 or more activities (such as career talks or work experience) while at school were 5 times less likely to not be in education, employment or training, and earned, on average, 16% more than peers who recalled no such activities. [4] The Sayce Review 2011 recommends providing support to disabled people and identifies work experience and specialist disability support as a critical component in access to work. [5] Based on this, our aim was to inspire young disabled people to recognise their skills and assets in relation to work, improving their confidence and career aspirations. At the same time, we aimed to break down barriers around hiring disabled employees. [1] Department for Work and Pensions, 2013, ‘The disability and health employment strategy: the discussion so far’. [2] Department for Work and Pensions, 2013, ‘The disability and health employment strategy: the discussion so far’. [3] Department for Work and Pensions, 2011, ‘Getting in, staying in and getting on: Disability employment support fit for the future’. [4] Dr Anthony Mann, 2012, ‘It’s who you meet: why employer contacts at school make a difference to the employment prospects of young adults’. [5] Department for Work and Pensions, 2011, ‘Getting in, staying in and getting on: Disability employment support fit for the future’. THE PROGRAMME Volunteering Matters coordinated one day work shadow placements for 90 young disabled people between October 2014 and June 2015. “I ENJOYED MY DAY AT VODAFONE. I LEARNED LOTS OF NEW SKILLS FOR EXAMPLE HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS... I NOW FEEL A LOT MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT MY PLANS FOR THE FUTURE AND I WOULD DEFINITELY DO WORK SHADOWING AGAIN FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.” – Young Disabled Person GEOGRAPHY OF THE PLACEMENTS The placements covered both rural and urban areas, including London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, Peterborough, Sheffield, Woking, Wolverampton, Sittingbourne, Norfolk and Suffolk. Age structure Type of disability Key: ASLD = Autism/Aspergers/learning disability PDSI = Physical disability/sensory impairment ASLD/PDSI = a combination of the above MH = Mental health condition ASLD/MH = combination of mental health condition and Autism/Aspergers/ learning disability JOB SHADOWING WORK PLACEMENT INTIATIVE: A PROJECT RUN IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS (DWP) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 14 to 17 18 to 21 22 to 25 23% 31% 46% 76% 16% 4% 3% 1% ASLD PDSI ASLD/PDSI MH