Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland: statistical summary December 2017
This experimental statistics release is the first in a new series about Scotland’s devolved employment services.
Work Able Scotland Statistics
On 3 April 2017, referrals to Work Able Scotland ( WAS), a devolved employment service for those with a health condition, began. It is one of two transitional services put in place before the introduction of Fair Start Scotland in April 2018. The service is managed by Skills Development Scotland.
Work Able Scotland is a voluntary service, tailored to meet individual need. It focuses on helping participants achieve their full potential and move towards becoming independent. It also seeks to help support employers who employ people participating in the service with a health condition.
A total of 732 people joined Work Able Scotland, as a result of 1,395 referrals made to the service during the period 3 April to 29 September 2017. This means 52% of those referred subsequently chose to participate. [4]
699 of these people had a recorded start date which fell within the same period.
Work Able Scotland Participants
WAS participant information in this section is only about people who joined the service between 3 April and 29 September 2017, and is derived directly from data collected by WAS service providers. Therefore totals in this section differ slightly from those above (732) because they exclude those who had a recorded start date after 29 September 2017.
The statistics are derived from information collected for equalities monitoring purposes. All information is self-reported.
Table 5: Work Able Scotland participants by age and gender, 3 April to 29 September 2017
| Table 5: WAS participants by age and gender, 3 April to 29 September 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Group | Female | Male | % by age group | Total |
| 18-24 [7] | 25 | 41 | 9.4 | 66 |
| 25-34 | 64 | 106 | 24.3 | 170 |
| 35-49 | 98 | 135 | 33.3 | 233 |
| 50-64 | 112 | 118 | 32.9 | 230 |
| % by gender | 42.8 | 57.2 | 100 [6] | |
| Total | 299 | 400 | 699 | |
Table 5 shows that two thirds (66%) of those joining the service were aged 35 or over, and the distribution of age groups is very similar for both males and females. 9% of participants overall were aged between 18 and 24. Females accounted for more than 40% of all those joining the service.
Table 6: Work Able Scotland participants by type of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty, 3 April to 29 September 2017
| Table 6: WAS participants by type of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty, 3 April to 29 September 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty | Number of all types of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty reported | % of all types of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty reported |
| Mental health | 397 | 43.8 |
| Other disability, impairment or medical condition | 133 | 14.7 |
| Long standing illness | 111 | 12.3 |
| Physical impairment/mobility | 96 | 10.6 |
| Learning difficulty | 73 | 8.1 |
| Social/communication | 55 | 6.1 |
| Deaf/hearing impairment | 21 | 2.3 |
| Visual impairment | 20 | 2.2 |
| Total | 906 | 100 [6] |
Table 6 shows that over 40% of all types of impairment/health conditons/learning difficulty reported by those joining WAS were mental health conditions. Other disabilities, impairments or medical conditions accounted for almost 15% of all types that were reported, whilst 12% were long standing illnesses. Physical impairments accounted for 11%.
Table 7: Work Able Scotland participants by number of types of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty, 3 April to 29 September 2017
| Table 7: WAS participants by type of impairment/health condition/learning difficulty, 3 April to 29 September 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of type of impairments/health conditions/learning difficulties | Number of WAS participants | % of WAS participants |
| 1 | 381 | 54.5 |
| 2 | 168 | 24.0 |
| 3 or more | 59 | 8.4 |
| Unknown | 91 | 13.0 |
| Total | 699 | 100 [6] |
Table 7 shows that whilst the majority (54%) of WAS participants reported having one type of long-term health impairment/health condition/learning difficulty, almost a third (32%) reported having 2 or more.
Table 8: Work Able Scotland participants by ethnic group, 3 April to 29 September 2017
| Table 8: WAS Participants by ethnic group, 3 April to 29 September 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ethnic group | Number of WAS participants | % of WAS participants |
| White | 685 | 98.0 |
| Non-White | 13 | 1.9 |
| Unknown | 1 | 0.1 |
| Total | 699 | 100 |
Table 8 shows that almost 2% of participants reported that they were from a non-white ethnic group.
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