How Inclusive Working was created?

Inclusive Working is a team consisting of Oscar Suarez, an SEN teacher, and Josh Hodgson, a Job developer, with a combined experience of over 14 years in working with individuals who have learning disabilities, autism, or both.

Over the past four years, they have successfully conducted a supported internship program at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, aiming to transform work experience into employment opportunities for individuals with additional needs.

While assisting numerous young people in securing paid jobs, Oscar and Josh identified a lower job conversion rate than desired. They discovered that although the individuals were capable of handling the job requirements, they faced challenges with business compliance training, HR recruitment processes, job application forms, and interviews.

Additionally, Oscar and Josh observed that individuals they supported through internships into paid work faced challenges in various areas. They struggled with email communication, distinguishing between professional and unprofessional behavior in the workplace, understanding the importance of safeguarding and how it helps protect individuals, comprehending payslips, filling out HR forms, coping with interview pressure, and grasping the concept of reasonable adjustments and how they could be applied to their specific needs. 

These difficulties present significant barriers to employment progression, highlighting the urgency to modernise and navigate the system more effectively.

To address this issue, Oscar and Josh dedicated three years to developing their own eLearning program and employability activities. They integrated their knowledge of learning strategies for autism and learning disabilities into respectful and non-patronising resources, which they extensively tested in real-world environments.

While Inclusive Working is their independent project, Oscar and Josh created these resources while employed at The Queensmill Trust, which supported them in conducting a pilot within the Trust.