This web enabled toolkit has been designed to help Healthy Working Lives (HWL) advisors and employability practitioners engage and support employers from small and medium sized businesses (SME) to provide jobs and progression in work for priority clients.

It provides a range of information and insights to help you work more effectively with SMEs, place your clients successfully with SMEs, and overcome some of the fears of SMEs about recruiting different kinds of people in different ways.

Some facts about SMEs and Employability

• SMEs make up 34% of all businesses in Scotland and provide approximately 40% of all the jobs in the private sector.
• Over half of all SMEs with employees in Scotland intended to grow their business over the period between 2005-08.
• Returning to work from unemployment results in significant health improvements in increases individuals self esteem.
• A study carried out in Glasgow found that 52% of Lone Parents and 42% of other benefit claimants (excluding people claiming job seekers allowance) were either currently looking for a job or saw it as a possibility in the near future.

With the right kind of support, SMEs can provide significant numbers of opportunities that are both realistic and appealing. There is a growing body of evidence that SMEs can gain as businesses when they recruit a more diverse range of employees: recruits may work harder, stay longer and display a range of valuable skills and insights.

In this toolkit you will find information, advice and guidance on four key aspects of working effectively with SME employers:

• Background: The employability agenda, the link between health and work, what SMEs are like and who the priority client groups are.
• Changing Attitudes: How to engage with SMEs and help them appreciate the value of recruiting a more diverse workforce.
• Changing Practice: Covering the three key stages of the process: pre-employment, recruitment and retention and what SMEs need to do to make a success of this.
• Changing Policy: How to help employers make long term and sustainable changes to their working practices that will benefit them and their workforce.

Each section describes the key principles and practices and offers advice, information and guidance specific to the separate roles of Healthy Working Lives advisors and employability practitioners.