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How Getting A Life works towards a clear path to paid employment.
Work as the goal
Getting A Life is a project for young people with severe learning disabilities. Paid employment is the destination the project keeps in view. It is not treated as a distant hope, but as a real and reachable outcome that needs careful planning, patient support and a willing employer.
This page sets out the thinking behind that path and describes the stages that help a young person move towards paid work.
Raising aspirations first
Before any step towards work, a young person needs to be able to imagine it. The project encourages families, schools and colleges to talk openly about what a working life could involve, from everyday tasks to a role that is valued and paid.
Aspirations grow when people see examples, try new activities and are given credit for what they can already do.
The route in stages
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Stage one
Explore interests
Identify the activities a young person enjoys and the skills they already use in daily life.
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Stage two
Try real tasks
Take part in short, supported tasks in workplaces that reflect those interests.
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Stage three
Build a plan
Agree a clear plan with the young person, their family and the people who support them.
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Stage four
Move into paid work
Support the transition into paid employment, with checks in place to see that it is working well.
Changing the system
A clear path to work depends on more than individual effort. Systems of education, support and employment must also change so that they expect young people with severe learning disabilities to work and be paid for it. The project takes part in that conversation and shares what it learns.
Examples from the field
Every route to paid work begins with a conversation. If you want to start one, the team would like to hear from you.
Contact the project