Nine young people with special educational needs (SEND) have successfully graduated from our Supported Internship Programme, demonstrating that disabilities do not limit employment opportunities.
Run in partnership with St Helens Council, the Supported Internship initiative, was established to encourage local employers to support young people aged 16-24 from the St Helens Borough by providing work placements that give individuals a practical, real-life experience in a working environment.
As part of the programme, participants focus on enhancing their interview skills, building CVs, improving their communication and socialisation abilities, budgeting and more, attending placement four days a week, alongside college once a week.
Work placement opportunities were available in a variety of industries including healthcare, retail, and hospitality, with the likes of Whiston Hospital, Amazon, CEX, and Tango, amongst others.
Student Cameron, completed his internship at Whiston Hospital, where he was responsible for identifying and reporting health and safety risks within the hospital.
Claire, a representative from Whiston Hospital said, "Seeing Cameron’s confidence develop has been amazing. He has gained the skills to solve problems and collaborate effectively with his team. It has been a fantastic experience for the whole team and we’re all so proud of him and his achievements."
A celebration event was held at St Helens Town Hall where the interns were awarded with certificates by the Mayor of St Helens, Lynn Clarke and Cabinet Member for Economy, Business and Skills, Councillor Kate Groucutt.
Congratulating the group, Mayor Lynn Clarke, said: "Today’s awards ceremony has filled my heart, it has been an amazing event, very emotional, and brilliant to hear about their experiences and personal development. People are generally unaware of what goes on, it has opened my eyes to be here today."
Councillor Kate Groucutt commented "There are many changes and opportunities for investment and employment coming to St Helens. We aim to implement an inclusive growth strategy and make a positive impact on the community and the lives of our residents. We also want to encourage more employers to participate in similar programmes. The power of partnerships is crucial in achieving these goals."
The Internship Programme has also been a great success for Matthew who completed his internship at Amazon's Haydock Warehouse in October where he excelled, impressing his employer so much so that he was offered a permanent full-time contract, and as a result of our partnership, Amazon is now in the process of rolling out the Supported Internship Programme across all of their UK sites.
Speaking to Matthew he said "At the start of the programme I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, but as the weeks went by my confidence started to grow. I also developed my independence by going to and from my placement by myself, which has been great."
For more information about our Supported Internship Programme course, please visit our dedicated section.
