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The purpose of this paper is to describe the learning from a historical NHS vocational service development that focused on: mental health, employment and social inclusion – in an inner city area – involving service users, staff and commissioners.

It is a descriptive case study. A range of historical documents was content analysed and described through a first-person narrative: service user consultations, service specifications, audit records, outcome frameworks, internal service evaluations and published literature.

When vocational NHS service developments are grounded in what service users say helps them (person-centred, networked and co-ordinated approaches) the evidence indicates people can achieve their vocational goals.

The range of documents described is factual, although the learning insights from some of the service developments are based on personal judgements. The author was the responsible manager – personal bias is high. There is not enough robust evidence to warrant generalisation.

When employment and social inclusion are prioritised, as core business in NHS, outcomes and health impact can increase. Greater detail is needed from healthcare policy makers – focusing on who exactly should undertake this work and what the key commissioning social inclusion performance indicators are.

The bulk of literature on employment support focuses on promoting evidence from one model: individual placement and support. Evidence here indicates a broader range of activity (education, training and volunteering) can have value and health impact.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the effectiveness, achievements and challenges of a job creation project that was developed with people in contact with forensic mental health services.

This evaluation (case study) used a mixed methods approach: a range of quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, analysed and interpreted.

There were economic and health benefits. The income generation was sufficient to fund a large chunk of the projects operating costs. Service users reported improvements in mental health, wellbeing, confidence, skill development and earning capacity.

The sample size was too small to be generalised and no validated measures were used. Further research is required into the long-term benefits of job creation in mental health services and providing a continuum of employment support.

A range of commercial activity can form the basis for job creation and work training projects in mental health services. Substantial operating costs can be generated, to re-invest in job creation/enterprises.

Social value can be enhanced within NHS public sector procurement procedures. Agreement between a range of internal NHS departments is necessary: finance, commercial, estates and facilities, and procurement.

Public sector procurement has the potential to act as a catalyst to support the inclusion agenda by funding commercial activity that job creation projects can undertake.

The importance of employment for people who use mental health services has been highlighted with the release of the Mental Health and Social Exclusion report (SEU, 2004). However, what remains less clear is what this process actually involves for service users and vocational rehabilitation staff. This article describes the process from the perspectives of a person receiving mental health services (Shaun Williams) and someone working in a vocational support role (Mark Bertram). Both accounts highlight how crucial supportive relationships and time are in helping people on their vocational journeys.

Mark Bertram reports findings from his survey of service users, which asked what the term ‘social inclusion’ meant to them.

Sarah Bourne and colleagues describe the success of a pilot study to explore whether focused occupational therapy input within a community mental health team could help clients achieve better vocational outcomes. The study found that, with individualised assessment and support, a significant number of people were able to move on to a range of socially inclusive opportunities ‐ although fitting the work into already packed caseloads was a major challenge for the occupational therapists involved.

It has been said that the trouble with employment is that it offers ‘too much, the wrong sort, or none at all’. Mark suggests that far from relying on ‘rocket science’ the first step towards improving services in the employment field is to explore the insights of people using them.

This article deconstructs the hagiography surrounding British mental health policy and provides a critical analysis of the ‘New Labour’ Government reforms of the Mental Health Act 1983 grounded in Foucauldian insights. Smart (1985) suggests that a Foucauldian perspective deconstructs “common sense assumptions” that lie at the heart of policies formulated by the State. A cogent discussion grounded in Foucault’s work can illustrate how surveillance and discourses of power impact on the positioning of service users as objects of control, domination and subordination.

Developing employment services can feel like trying to push water uphill. Staff must often battle against local mental health services that have only a short history of interest in this issue, a welfare benefit system that speaks of promoting opportunity but seems to block every step forward, and discriminatory employment practices that appear to be rife despite the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This means that anyone with the vision and determination to create an employment project deserves high praise.It takes unusual courage to listen to blunt and direct feedback about one's local employment service. This article describes the findings of a consultation conference, many of which will be of interest to anyone working in the field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore what helped seven people in contact with secondary mental health services achieve their vocational goals, such as: employment, education, training and volunteering.

The authors used the practice of co-operative inquiry – staff and peer supporters co-designed an evaluation of vocational and peer support work with service users.

Service users experienced invalidating living conditions that caused serious distress. These life struggles included: isolation, trauma events and stigma. The impact involved distressing emotions such as: despair, fear, pain and confusion. In contrast, when service users experienced supportive validating conditions (trusting relationships, engaging in valued activity and peer support) they reported being able to learn, change and grow – finding their own way forward, to improve well-being and quality of life.

Qualitative analysis from in-depth interviews revealed a range of consistent themes that enabled the authors to visually represent these and “begin” developing a model of change – grounded in lived experience. Further research is required to develop this model.

The development of a model of change grounded in an invalidation/validation framework offers a different approach – in terms of how people are perceived and treated. This has relevance for Government policy development, clinical commissioning groups and practitioners.

Industry 4.0 is driving an incremental shift in paradigms for the construction industry. Current research in the built environment is limited to exploring the exponential technological prowess of Industry 4.0 with very little work on its implications to the construction business model, strategy and competitive advantage. There arises a challenge for researchers to understand how appropriate technologies can be assembled to assist in achieving the goals of construction businesses. The overarching aim of this research is to develop a construction Business Model Transformation Canvas (BMTC) to map the transformation of construction enterprises in Industry 4.0.

The research was carried out by conducting an expert forum with academics from nine universities across Australia and New Zealand. The study employed purposive sampling, and the academics were selected in a strategic manner in order to provide data that are relevant to the research.

The research identifies that technology-based partnerships supporting strategy and capability building, platforms enabling enterprises to conceive, design, manufacture and assemble buildings and competition with stakeholders having superior capabilities not in building but in other areas of business are fundamental to Industry 4.0 transformation.

The results present state-of-the-art development of business model research in construction that intends to support the strategic planning of construction enterprises in Industry 4.0. This research is the first and only research that uses a business model canvas (BMC) for strategy-reformulation in incumbent construction enterprises to maintain a competitive advantage in Industry 4.0. Merits of the construction BMTC lie in its holistic approach, visual representation and simplicity.