Employers don’t see what disabled people can do

Mon,2 October 2017
News

DR UK CEO Kamran Mallick highlights the poor quality of Government back to work schemes and the education available for disabled students.

Read Guardian article

Speaking in the Guardian, Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, said that the back to work support available from government is patchy and mostly available through the DWP Work Choice programme, which has a poor record of success.

He also siad that the the quality of education offered to disabled students was also variable.

“I’ve seen young disabled people stuck in college doing endless courses, just repeating them.

Then, aged 25, when they enter adult life, all their support mechanisms fall away. To make matters worse, most won’t have had a Saturday job or have any work experience to show employers. Many will also have been told to have low expectations.”

There are pockets of excellence within the system, such as supported internships, where students are given a structured study programme and a chance to learn in the workplace.

At Action on Disability, where Kamran previously worked as chief executive, he developed a supported internship scheme that achieved an employment success rate of 70%.