New strategy to integrate disabled people into employment

The national mainstream employment support programme – Arbeid med bistand (AB) – provides support for the inclusion of disabled job seekers in the general labour market. An evaluation of the AB programme in 2003 found that the successful integration of disabled workers in the labour market relies on the ability of the vocational rehabilitation staff to cater for participants’ needs with a view to assisting them in finding and keeping a job.

Methodological approach

In Norway, the traditional strategies for integrating people with vocational disabilities (i.e. those with a physical, mental or social impairment that reduces their employment opportunities) into the open labour market have followed a ‘train to place’ approach, in which disabled persons are trained under a separate scheme prior to entering the open labour market. Moving away from this traditional approach, the ‘Arbeid med bistand’ (AB) initiative seeks to develop employment support for people with disabilities through the use of job coaches or support workers, who would assist people with vocational disabilities in finding and retaining employment. The programme is based on two core principles:

• Work training and employment should occur simultaneously, not consecutively. This means that a job has to be found first, before on-the-job training can begin.

• Services should provide support not only to the employee with the disability, but also to the co-workers and the employer in order to better facilitate the integration process, so that the person with the disability would be able to get and keep the job long term.

Target groups of workers

Target groups of the AB initiative are defined as ‘people with extensive vocational disabilities’. Since the programme’s pilot project from 1992 to 1995, the composition of the target group has changed. At that time, job seekers with learning difficulties were the largest group participating in AB, at 32%, while people with mental health problems accounted for 19% of participants. However, in 2002, job seekers with mental health problems represented the largest group of participants, at 30%, while 12% of the programme’s participants had learning difficulties, which is still one of the largest groups of participants.

The group of job seekers diagnosed as ‘socially maladjusted’ has increased from 6% to 9%. In 2002, the initiative supported approximately 2,500 vocationally disabled job seekers, and most initiatives had waiting lists.

Supported approach

The work carried out under the AB initiative typically takes place in specialised units integrated in established vocational rehabilitation services, with teams consisting of a minimum of two job coaches or support workers. Each job coach is expected to work with 10 participants at any given time. Participants can receive employment support through the AB programme for a maximum period of three years, although in certain cases this period can be extended. For example, former psychiatric patients and prisoners can receive support through the programme for up to four years. The competency fields among job coaches include science of education, vocational education relevant for the target group, knowledge about working life, public administration and marketing.

Evaluation of AB initiative

An evaluation of the programme carried out in 2003 showed that 71% of AB participants found that their chances of obtaining a job in the ordinary job market had improved. However, this does not necessarily mean that they achieved the aim of getting the job; the number of people who actually obtained a paid steady job was lower, at an estimated 35% of participants. Those who were still in the AB programme and had not yet reached their objective most commonly explain this by highlighting the difficulties faced in finding a suitable job (42%) and other unsolved problems in their lives (35%). Moreover, 29% of participants mention the fact that they have only recently joined the programme.

Experience of employers

The services provided by AB have lowered the perception of risk among employers of hiring a vocationally disabled person into the company. Many employers stated that they would not have offered AB participants jobs without the services provided by AB. In the evaluation, a total of 92% of employers reported that they did not experience any problems, or have experienced only minor problems, in connection with the employment of an AB participant. Only 8% of employers had experienced major problems by employing disabled workers.

Success factors

Among the factors contributing to the fact that the AB programme had successfully placed participants in steady jobs included: a good match between the job and the employee’s preferences, skills and abilities, a positive atmosphere at the workplace, a satisfied employer, an employee feeling in control and a valued job with clear tasks. Figures reflecting the outcome of the programme in terms of jobs in vocational rehabilitation are generally uncertain, but statistics from the labour market authorities indicate that 35% of participants of the AB employment programme find a steady job in the open labour market.

Recommendations for future action

In most cases, the AB units draw up action and vocational rehabilitation plans for their participants. The evaluation of the initiative, however, showed that these plans rarely stretched further than obtaining a steady job. Moreover, many of the former participants lose their job within a year after the AB process has ended. Therefore, the main recommendation is to improve possibilities for a steady job by extending support measures to assist disabled workers in keeping their job. The programme’s evaluators also suggest that greater efforts should be made to extend the AB programme to a greater number of vocationally disabled job seekers in towns and to provide access to the service in rural districts.

References

Spjelkavik, Ø., Frøyland, K. and Skarðhamar, T., Yrkeshemmede i det ordinære arbeidslivet – inkludering gjennom Arbeid med bistand, Report No. 3, Work Research Institute, Oslo, 2003.

Spjelkavik, Ø., Frøyland, K. and Evans M., Supported employment in Norway – A national mainstream programme (476Kb PDF), Work Research Institute’s Occasional Papers, No. 6/04, Oslo, 2004.

Steinar Aasnæss, National Institute of Occupational Health