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<p>Employment support is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. The Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to supporting young people with learning
disabilities and/or autism move closer to the labour market or into work, and we have
a number of initiatives to support people with Autism through Jobcentres across Great
Britain.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP Youth Offer provides intensive support through the
Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional
barriers to work, and Youth hubs. Our Work Coaches and Youth Employability Coaches
are supported by Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who offer advice and expertise
on how best to help disabled people into work.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has been working
with the National Autistic Society to design and develop a service delivery framework
for people with Autism. The service delivery framework aims to transform the service
available to jobseekers on the autism spectrum. This trial is now complete with all
15 sites having passed their accreditation test. We are considering how best to take
the Jobcentre Plus Autism Accreditation forward.</p><p> </p><p>For those learning
disabled and autistic people who do find themselves excluded from the workplace, starting
this Autumn, DWP will invest £7.2 million in Local Supported Employment services,
working with around 20 Local Authorities to enable more social care users with a learning
disability and autistic social care users to access the support needed to help them
get into work and remain in employment.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, Young people with
Autism can access further employment support through Jobcentres including priority
access to the Work and Health Programme in England and Wales, for people with health
conditions, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support provision across the UK,
which provides highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people
and people with health conditions who require specialist support to achieve sustained
employment. Access to Work is also available, which is a demand-led discretionary
grant scheme that provides funding for the extra disability-related costs people have
when starting work or maintaining employment.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, Supported
Internships are aimed at young people with a learning disability or autism who have
an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan. Supported internships usually last for
12 months and provide support from a specialist job coach. Whilst the Department for
Education lead on this in England, the Department for Work and Pensions provides support
through Access to Work where needed.</p>
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