What is supported employment?

Individual Tailor Made Support...

C.L.E. (City Limits Employment) aims to find the most suitable work for our clients by looking at their chosen career, experience and abilities. We respect our clients’ choices and can help with their decision making about the types of jobs they would like to do.

Confidentiality...

We provide a free confidential service which complies with Southampton City Councils core values.
Client records are stored in a secure place and are available under the ‘access to records’ request policy.
We ask our clients and gain their consent before sharing any personal information.

Vocational Profiling...

We get to know our clients and gather information which includes their:

• Likes and dislikes
• Abilities
• Skills
• Experience
• Interests
• Aims
• Aspirations
• Potential barriers to work i.e. health difficulties/disadvantages.

Job searching and matching...

We assist our clients in looking for work in many ways and by matching their skills and their past experience with a new job.

Work taster...

We can arrange a work taster for our clients in places they would like to pursue a career in.
Job tasters give our clients a chance to find out what a job is like in order for them to decide if it’s the kind of place they would like to work.

Work trials...

These are short trial periods working for an employer so that both the employer and the client can be confident in the placement before looking at a more permanent job opportunity.

Voluntary work...

This is often a useful stepping stone to gain skills, structure and increase confidence to pursue future job prospects.
We work with a range of voluntary businesses across Southampton.

Help with application forms and writing curriculum vitae...

• We help our clients to design or update their curriculum vitae.
• We offer help in filling out application forms offering help relating to the job description/specification.
• We discuss gaps in employment history and offer positive solutions as well as advising on issues of disclosure.

Interview preparation...

• We help our clients prepare for their interviews by gathering information about the employer.
• We can help with interview skills and offer a practice interview if required.
• We can also attend interviews with our clients if they so wish.

Training...

• We help clients to access any training or educational needs in relation to career progression.
• We can provide diversity awareness training for employers.
• For those aged 16-25 we can look at apprenticeship opportunities.

Benefits advice...

• We can provide a benefits calculation and possible ‘access to work’ which can include funding for transport, aids and adaptations for use in the work place.
• We offer advice to clients about their benefits to ensure that they remain better off.
• We also have a Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) that comes in all day on a Friday.

Starting a new job...

Starting a new job can be nerve wracking. Employers often welcome extra support to help settle a new person into the workplace.

This could mean an employment officer/assistant staying with the client to learn the job skills.

We can also provide bus training for our clients helping them learn their new bus route to work until they are able to do this by themselves.

Job coaching...

Where needed we provide on the job coaching for clients to settle them into their new position.

Fading out...

As a client becomes more able and confident in their new job and with the employers agreement, we gradually lessen the level of support.

This often means the client has developed a support network or ‘natural support’ and is more independent.

Ongoing support...

We continue to be there for our clients to provide any further support, answer any questions and help address any problems as long as the client or employer needs it.

If the job changes and the client's asked to learn new skills, we can return to the workplace to give extra job coaching.

We are also available for any ongoing reviews.

Keeping the job...

Should a problem arise within the workplace i.e. due to personal circumstances or health difficulties. We provide help and advice to the client and/or employer to ensure they keep their job.