The effectiveness of skills training for improving outcomes in supported employment.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated whether a supplementary skills training program improved work outcomes for clients enrolled in supported employment programs.


METHODS
Thirty-five recently employed clients with severe mental illness who were receiving supported employment services at a free-standing agency were randomly assigned to participate in either the workplace fundamentals program, a skills training program designed to make work more "successful and satisfying," or treatment as usual. Knowledge of workplace fundamentals (for example, identifying workplace stressors, problem solving, and improving job performance) was assessed at baseline and at nine months; employment outcomes and use of additional vocational services were tracked for 18 months.


RESULTS
Clients in the workplace fundamentals group (N=17) improved more in knowledge of workplace fundamentals than those in the control group (N=18) at the nine-month follow-up, but the two groups did not differ in the number of hours or days worked, salary earned, or receipt of additional vocational services over the 18-month period. In general, clients in this study had higher educational levels and better employment outcomes than clients in most previous studies of supported employment, making it difficult to detect possible effects of the skills training intervention on work.


CONCLUSIONS
Supplementary skills training did not improve work outcomes for clients who were receiving supported employment.
Mueser
Kim T
KT
New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, 105 Pleasant Street, Main Building, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, USA. kim.t.mueser@dartmouth.edu
Aalto
Steve
S
Becker
Deborah R
DR
Ogden
John S
JS
Wolfe
Rosemarie S
RS
Schiavo
Diane
D
Wallace
Charles J
CJ
Xie
Haiyi
H
D000328:Adult; D016832:Employment, Supported; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011361:Professional Competence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013663:Teaching; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017132:Workplace