Mencap’s vision is a future where people with a learning disability are receiving the right support to access and stay in work.

We want employers to know that people with a learning disability make good workers when supported properly.

We want people with a learning disability to have real jobs in the open labour market, with regular hours, and to be paid at the same rate as everyone else. Employment could be a few hours a week or full-time.

What we’re asking for

  1. Improve the transition from school and college into training, work experience, apprenticeships and employment for young people with a learning disability.
  2. Ensure effective employment support is there to enable all people with a learning disability to look for and stay in work.
  3. Empower employers with the knowledge to recruit and support people with a learning disability. 
Woman with short hair and earrings looking into camera.

Employment - the numbers

  • 6% of adults with a learning disability known to their local authority in England are in paid work (HSCIC 2015)
  • Only 1% of Apprentices declared a moderate learning disability in 2012/13
  • 17% of all adults with a learning disability in England are in paid work (Emerson and Hatton 2008)
  • 74% of people aged 16 to 64 in the general population in England are in paid work (ONS 2016b).

You might also like