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Valuing employment now - real jobs for people with learning disabilities

Valuing Employment Now - real jobs for people with learning disabilities sets out an ambitious goal to increase radically the number of people with learning disabilities in employment by 2025. The Government wants as many as possible of these jobs to be at least 16 hours per week. We aspire to close the gap between the employment rate of people with learning disabilities and that of the disabled population as whole. The current employment rate for disabled people as a whole is 48%. Closing this gap in today's terms would mean around 45,000 more people with learning disabilities in work than we believe is currently the case.

Phil Hope and Jonathan Shaw are the joint lead Ministers for the strategy. They said, "We need to get more people with learning disabilities into jobs. We know that people with learning disabilities want to work and can do a good job that employers value. Valuing Employment Now will need leadership at all levels, with different agencies and service providers working closely together. This is why it is – and has to be - a cross-Government strategy. The goal is challenging, but one we are committed to. It will require a major change in approach and attitudes, which will take time. But it is worth it. Employment is a fundamental part of life, and it is only when people with learning disabilities have the same opportunities as all other citizens that we will really be valuing people."

The strategy includes action to raise expectations throughout the system that all people with learning disabilities can and should have the chance to work: from birth and early years through education, among health and social care staff, local authorities, employment agencies, employers, and people with learning disabilities themselves and their families."