The term ‘priority groups’ is used to describe people who are a particular focus for employability. Many of these people are described as economically inactive: that is they are neither in employment or registered as unemployed. In Scotland 19% of the working age population (610,000 people) are currently economically inactive; however it is important to recognise that a substantial proportion, almost one third of this group (168,000 people), say that they want to work.

There are core groups of individuals who face particular barriers to finding and sustaining employment, including :

• Those with no or low qualifications
• Lone parents and people with caring responsibilities
• People with mental health problems
• The long term unemployed
• People with physical disabilities and health problems
• Older people
• Homeless people
• Ex-offenders
• People with learning disabilities
• Those with substance abuse problems
• People from BME groups

One of the main focuses of the employability agenda is concerned with the provision services to help people in the above groups to find and sustain employment.

Many of those who are categorised as economically inactive and/or from priority groups do have a desire to find and sustain employment. A study in Glasgow found that (of those surveyed) 52% of lone parents and 42% of other benefit claimants (excluding people claiming Jobseekers Allowance) were either currently looking for a job or saw it as a definite possibility in the near future .

Those in priority groups have the potential to be important resources for employers in Scotland if they can be helped to gain the skills and experience they need to perform in the modern labour market.

Incapacity Benefit Claimants

One of the largest priority groups is people who are claiming Incapacity Benefit. In Scotland, they constitute 9.5% of the working age population compared to 2.8% who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance.

Mental health problems are by far the most common reasons for claiming incapacity benefit, accounting for nearly half of all claimants with the majority suffering from stress and depression. Problems with mental health have a significant impact on an individual’s ability find and sustain employment, and unemployment rates for people with mental health problems are three times higher than people with any other health condition or disability .

In 2002, there were nearly 120, 000 people with mental health problems who wanted to work but were unemployed. There is also evidence that the longer someone is unemployed the more likely they are to develop a mental health problem. Conversely, employment has been shown to have a beneficial effect on improving mental health.