https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/adult-social-care-workforce-data/Workforce-intelligence/documents/State-of-the-adult-social-care-sector/Summary-of-care-home-services-with-nursing-2019.pdf https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/news/2016-10-27-employment-gap.aspx https://www.acas.org.uk/index.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
Open to All
Anne Kasey, Home Manager at maritime charity the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society’s Belvedere House, explores the importance of accepting diversity in the workforce and being open to employing neurodivergent candidates in the care sector.
It is estimated that over 15% of the UK population are neurodivergent, which means that the brain functions, learns and processes information in a different way. This equates to almost ten million of us living with conditions such as attention deficit disorders, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia. But despite these individuals oſten being ready and willing to work, they frequently face barriers to employment.
Unemployment levels for those who have a learning difficulty are significantly higher than those who don’t. Just 32% of autistic adults in the UK are employed in some capacity, and only 47% of all disabled people are in a full or part-time job, compared to 80% of non-disabled people in work. With the care sector facing a shortage of staff, many employers could be missing out on valuable resources by overlooking those with a learning difficulty.
POSITIVE CHANGE
Attitudes around disabilities are starting to change and there is more support and guidance for employers looking to diversify their workforce. In 2016, the Government launched the Disability Confident Scheme to encourage employees to think differently about disability and actively seek those with disabilities into the workforce to support their many talents. Hundreds of companies have since signed up to the programme, with businesses from all sectors, including ITV, BT and Sainsbury’s, all acknowledging the benefits of having a diverse team.
Here at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, it is our view that a disability does not necessarily mean you cannot do a job, but rather that you may approach a job differently. We are keen to support all our staff to help them succeed and know that people learn in different ways and it’s never a case of ‘one size fits all’. We adopt the same approach to an individual’s career with us as we do to the care we provide to our residents, tailoring this to individual needs.
We pride ourselves on how we treat our employees and have always encouraged others in the care sector to follow suit. The Society has a particularly low annual staff turnover rate of 14%, compared to an industry average of around 31%,
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due to our commitment to staff development, career progression and investment in supporting our long-serving workforce. Furthermore, by breaking down the barriers to entry for neurodivergent candidates, we have also seen people from diverse backgrounds stay with us for longer.
SUPPORTING OUR STAFF
We work closely with staff to identify how we can accommodate any additional needs to support their career progression, ensuring we make necessary adjustments for those who require it and have the support in place to ensure the system works for everyone.
We support team members with mentoring from their peers and support in completing qualifications and training to boost their skillsets, employing an in-house trainer who develops bespoke programmes for all. We also identify the difficulty some staff may have with particular elements of their role. For example, for staff members who struggle with dyslexia, we may make adjustments to reduce paperwork and instead increase the practical element of their role.
One staff member who has autism initially struggled with interaction with other colleagues, but we worked with his support worker, who provided on-site assistance during the first few weeks, to enable him to develop his confidence.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for building a strong workforce but, whatever the sector, it’s beneficial to bring different experiences, skills and personalities together. As the care industry continues to face a challenging time for recruitment and retention, ensuring organisations offer an accessible, supportive work environment for employees with a variety of needs could be one of the simplest and most effective ways of strengthening teams. In all we do, however, the overriding consideration must be the maintenance of the very best care for residents and the cohesion and effectiveness of the staff team.
www.royalalfredseafarers.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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