Mainstream employment for people with the label of 'learning difficulties': the experiences and perspectives of employers
Ghasem Norouzi, School of Education and Psychology, Isfahan University, Iran
Abstract
This paper discusses the findings of analysis of the research question 'How are people with learning difficulties experienced and perceived by their employers in mainstream workplaces?' This was done through a thematic analysis of the experiences and perspectives of 12 such employers. The findings show that employers perceived their employees with learning difficulties positively. Employers were sympathetic to the idea of employing people with learning difficulties, and they gave several reasons why they employed these people: the ability of people with learning difficulties to work; equality of opportunities; moral responsibility of the employers to employ these people; adequate support from supported employment agencies; the character of the employees with learning difficulties (loyal, reliable and hard working); good qualifications and experiences of people with learning difficulties and; their previous experiences working with these people. The findings show a number of structural and individual barriers to employing people with learning difficulties from the point of view of employers including a lack of awareness of the ability of people with learning difficulties, a lack of qualifications among people with learning difficulties, misunderstandings in doing the job, loss of temper and, poor numeracy skills. However, all the employers in this study stated that these difficulties were not critical and were solved by the supported employment agencies, later. The findings point towards a number of ways in which employment services can be improved for these people in society: increasing disability awareness; increasing the number of supported employment agencies; giving more on-the-job supervision to people with learning difficulties; increasing the provision of supported employment for employers working with employees with learning difficulties; improving the qualifications of people with learning difficulties by providing adequate vocational training in mainstream education; and by providing suitable employment opportunities in mainstream employment.