Pathways to Employment: supporting people with lived and living experience of substance use in to work
This toolkit brings together best practice and support into one place to provide employers and employment support providers advice on how to attract, recruit and support staff with lived experience of substance use.
Attracting and recruiting
- This section will help you to understand:
- How to effectively attract and recruit people with lived experience.
- That many people with lived experience may have had little or no employment history, and that the recruitment process can be intimidating.
- How to reach out to recovery, treatment and support services.
- How best to appeal to people with lived experience.
- How to facilitate an effective recruitment process.
Offering an attractive recruitment process can often be an important first step in supporting people into employment. However, employers should recognise that people may have significant gaps in their employment record or have limited experience of traditional processes. A process that seeks to understand people’s strengths can bring out the best in applicants.
How to reach people with lived experience?
Traditional platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed alone are unlikely to reach a wide pool of people with lived experience. Engagement with recovery, treatment and support services can help widen your audience reach.
The Scottish Drugs Services Directory can help you locate a service in your area. Organisations working in this field may also be able to help raise awareness of any vacancies you are seeking to fill.
The Scottish Drug Forum’s National Traineeship recruits on an annual basis. High demand for a place on this programme means that many applicants miss out and would welcome other avenues into employment. Successful trainees also generally seek permanent employment upon graduation.
Elevate Employability provide work preparation and support, as well as individual placement support and in-work support. Your organisation could consider establishing contact and becoming a partner organisation.
The recruitment process
People with lived experience may be dissuaded from the recruitment process if they feel a position is out of their reach or that they are not suited to a role. It can be beneficial for employers to consider the following:
Ensure person specifications focus on a person’s strengths.
Build in scenarios to understand how people might respond to situations they might encounter, i.e. what would you do if someone did something you didn’t agree with?
Communicate expectations around the role, including whether they will be required to share their experience.
While it may in some circumstances be reasonable to consider a person’s recovery, try to avoid setting arbitrary timeframes around this journey.
Scottish Government’s Drugs and Alcohol Workforce Knowledge and Skills Framework serves as a guide for commissioners and managers to ensure employees are recruited with consistent knowledge and skills. The Framework can also be used to develop job descriptions and identify induction and development activities.
The interview process
Interviews may be an intimidating experience for people with lived experience. The interview questions should seek to draw out the desired knowledge and skills for the role and recognise the unique strengths of applicants.
It is important to be aware that this may be the first time in a while that a person has applied for a job, so it is worth thinking about how you ensure the correct environment for the interview. You might consider:
Utilising alternative methods, such as group exercises and open sessions prior to applications.
Using strength-based applications and interview questions.
Sending interview questions in advance, giving candidates an opportunity to prepare.
Setting up the interview room in an open and welcoming manner.
Allowing people to bring notes.
Ensuring the candidate is aware of the type of interview they will face and offer guidance on how to prepare for such interviews.
Making reasonable adjustments to support any additional support needs.
Ensuring the candidate has a named contact to ask for when they arrive. Where possible it is good to detail the number of interviewers, their names and roles.
Avoiding pressurised interview formats, such as strict time limits for questions.
Recovery communities and lived experience recovery organisations (LEROs)
What role can recovery communities and LEROs play in the employment process?
Recovery communities and LEROs can provide tailored employability pathways that address local need. People with lived experience can often access support for their recovery, develop their skills and access employment opportunities.
Recovery communities and LEROs often offer comprehensive support systems, which can help people prepare for employment. These support systems can help foster coping strategies, emotional stability, and resilience.
Recovery communities and LEROs can provide valuable resources, such as training and volunteering opportunities, helping people develop the necessary skills for employment. They ensure each person receives support tailored to their personal needs.
How do recovery communities and LEROs assess a person’s readiness for employment?
Recovery communities and LEROs can assess a person’s readiness for employment through factors such as a person’s timekeeping, engagement level, and their ability to handle additional responsibilities.
Volunteering and training opportunities often provide a good opportunity to gauge a person’s readiness, ensuring that they are supported at the right time with the appropriate resources and guidance.
What learning can be taken from the approach to employability of recovery communities and LEROs?
By engaging with recovery communities and LEROs, employers can enhance their workforce and build a workforce that is both skilled and resilient
The training and development provided by recovery communities and LEROs can offer many long-term benefits. Although sometimes resource intensive, this investment ensures that people are well prepared for employment, reducing the risk of setbacks and fostering a supportive environment for sustained recovery.
By collaborating with recovery communities and LEROs, employers can create tailored support systems that facilitate a smooth transition into employment, ensuring long-term success and wellbeing for people with lived experience.
The Scottish Drugs Services Directory or Scottish Recovery Consortium may be able to help you identify recovery communities and LEROs in your local area.