Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland: statistical summary May 2018

The third in a new series of experimental statistics about Scotland's Devolved Employment Services.


Work Able Scotland Statistics

Work Able Scotland ( WAS) is a devolved disability employment support service, managed by Skills Development Scotland. It is one of two transitional services put in place before Fair Start Scotland, which launched on 3 April 2018. Referrals to WAS were made between 3 April 2017 and 9 March 2018.

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 1,095 people joined Work Able Scotland during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018, as a result of 2,058 referrals made to the service. This means 53% of those referred subsequently chose to participate 4

Work Able Scotland Referrals and Starts

Table 6: Work Able Scotland referrals and starts during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018 [9] , by quarter

Table 6: WAS referrals and starts during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018, by quarter
Quarter Referrals [9] Starts
1 (3 Apr – 29 Jun 2017) 665 171
2 (3 Jul – 29 Sept 2017) 728 525
3 (2 Oct – 29 Dec 2017) 402 230
4 (3 Jan – 30 March 2018) 263 169
Total Q1 – Q4 2,058 1,095

Work Able Scotland Participants

WAS participant information in this section is only about people who had a recorded start date on the service between 3 April 2017 and 30 March 2018, and is derived directly from data collected by WAS service providers.

The statistics are derived from information collected for equalities monitoring purposes. All information is self-reported.

Table 7: Work Able Scotland participants by age and gender, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018

Table 7: WAS participants by age and gender, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018
Age Group [10] Female Male % by age group Total
18-24 48 76 11.3 124
25-34 99 157 23.4 256
35-49 168 211 34.6 379
50-64 161 175 30.7 336
% by gender 43.5 56.5 100  
Total 476 619   1,095

Table 7 shows that almost two thirds (65%) of those joining the service were aged 35 or over, with 11% of participants in the 18 to 24 age group. Females accounted for more than 40% of all those joining the service. Whilst the distribution of age groups is generally similar by gender, the proportion of females in the 50-64 age group (34%) is higher than the proportion of males in the same age group (28%).

Table 8: Work Able Scotland participants by type of impairment / health condition / learning difficulty, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018

Table 8: WAS participants by type of impairment / health condition / learning difficulty, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018
Type of long-term health condition Number of all types of condition reported % of all types of condition reported
Mental health 698 46.2
Other disability, impairment or medical condition 209 13.8
Long standing illness 167 11.1
Physical impairment/mobility 163 10.8
Learning difficulty 122 8.1
Social/communication 79 5.2
Deaf/hearing impairment 42 2.8
Visual impairment 30 2.0
Total 1,510 [7] 100

Table 8 shows that around 46% of all types of impairment / health condition / learning difficulty reported by those joining WAS were mental health conditions. Other disabilities, impairments or medical conditions accounted for about 14% of all types that were reported, whilst around 11% were long standing illnesses or physical impairments.

Table 9: Work Able Scotland participants by number of types of impairment / health condition / learning difficulty, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018

Table 9: WAS participants by number of types of impairment / health condition / learning difficulty, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018
Number of types of long-term health condition Number of WAS participants % of WAS participants
1 653 59.6
2 274 25.0
3 or more 95 8.7
Unknown 73 6.7
Total 1,095 100

Table 9 shows that whilst the majority (60%) of WAS participants reported having one type of long-term health impairment / health condition / learning difficulty, over a third (34%) reported having 2 or more.

Table 10: Work Able Scotland participants by ethnic group, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018

Table 10: WAS participants by ethnic group, 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018
Ethnic group Number of WAS participants % of WAS participants
White 1,070 97.7
Minority ethnic 8 23 2.1
Unknown 2 0.2
Total 1,095 100

Table 10 shows that just over 2% of participants reported being from minority ethnic groups.

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