Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches receive any specific training in how to support disabled jobseekers.

DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive ongoing learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, which continues at point of need throughout their role. The learning provides work coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to:

• treat each claimant as an individual
• support them with their health condition and the impacts of their condition
• help overcome any barriers and
• support them into moving closer to the working environment.

Their technical learning enables the work coach to determine what is required and never assume to know. They complete scenario-based discussions and skills practice to cultivate effective communication skills including the sensitive use of questions, to reach joint decisions.

DWP also provides the work coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge and are signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition.

Within DWP, there are also staff who undertake the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role. Staff who undertake this role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role which provides them with further skills to:

• analyse communication and adapt communication to claimant needs
• identify appropriate etiquette for claimant meetings based on individual needs
• encourage claimants to think about employment and the challenges they face, working with then to find solutions enabling claimants to progress towards work.

There is also a new product Accessibility Fundamentals learning which helps work coaches and Disability Employment Advisors to understand the various features in Microsoft that can be used to make opportunities more accessible.