PurposeThe paper alerts small business employers to new dictates of the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) as it applies to learning disabilities. Then the “Learning to Work” project featured in the paper offers small business employers a set of approaches and methods for the identification of a learning‐disabled young adult candidate's training needs.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were carried out with 12 of the 52 companies in which the Breakaway‐supported employment service, operating from the Southdown Housing Association, has so far secured employment for people with learning disabilities.FindingsComments from employers in the survey represented predominantly very favourable experiences with the learning‐disabled individuals, mixed with some reservations about their need for additional training time, and their relative inflexibility in response to change of work routines.Research limitations/implicationsThe investigation was confined to SMEs in Sussex. As they stand, the methods could be used in different business sectors, but further research is planned on elicitation of candidates' personal constructs, resource modelling, and continuous training cycles.Originality/valueRecognised supported employment models were used but significantly adapted. Some methods used in the paper were new.