A Supported Intern on his journey to employment

February 21, 2022

Many interns come to us wanting to start work but are unsure what career path they want to go down. This is the case for many young adults and it can put many people off doing an internship as they are not sure whether it will be beneficial for their future career or are not sure where to even do an internship. This blog explains why supported internships can be so beneficial and provides a recent in progress success story from one of our clients.

What is a Supported Internship?

Our Supported Internships allow young people in education who have special educational needs to either build skills in their preferred career destination or try different types of roles to help them develop workplace skills and gain a better understanding of what future career path they would like to go down.

Supported internships are essentially year-long unpaid work placements supported by a qualified Job Coach, that can be undertaken in a variety of industries and take place predominantly on an employer’s site. This allows young people to learn ‘on the job’.

According to the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) the aim of supported internships is to “secure a job at the end of the placement” and whilst this is the ultimate aim of undergoing a supported internship there are many more potential benefits including:

· Experiencing different job roles to learn what they enjoy doing

· Having a highly skilled Job Coach support them and their Employer throughout the process

· Developing workplace skills that employers are looking for

Here's one of our current interns building his own success story

Luke began his Route to Recruit journey with us over the summer where he began preparing for his internship and started his initial workplace training. Route to Recruit is the name of our supported internship programme here at Ways into Work and it’s a partnership between us, Activate Learning (Reading College), and Brookfields and Addington SEN schools.

In September Luke began his internship working as a Porter within the Waste Portering Team at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. This role involved the collection, transportation and disposal of a range of items, from old office furniture to confidential and sharps waste. Luke enjoyed this placement and has made great progress in gaining real work experience and transferable skills.

Luke himself commented:

“I enjoyed being part of the Waste Portering Team – particularly throwing the confidential waste bags into the confidential waste bins in the yard”.

Following this successful initial placement, Luke has started off the new year in a new role for his second placement within the Post Room where he is experiencing a new working environment and team, and so further developing his skills and knowledge of the workplace.

What’s Next?

Luke will continue on this next placement on his supported internship before moving onto his third rotation after Easter. This is likely to be in either Portering or the Post Room as focusing on one of these will allow Luke to layer up his skillset and get him ready to move into a permanent paid position, which is of course the ultimate aim of our supported internship programme! Keep an eye on this space to find out how Luke progresses.

For more information on supported internships and on who can apply for one you can view our Supported Internships Page

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M&S supporting a young Intern again!

By Saanvi Goyal • January 18, 2025

Watch Ashonte shine at the Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food store situated in Royal Berks Hospital! 🌟 Our supported intern is confidently taking on new tasks every day, from restocking to serving customers on the tills. Ashonte's hard work and positive attitude are inspiring! ✨ A huge thank you to M&S, Royal Berks, who have supported many young people year after year. This year they are providing Ashonte with this amazing opportunity and once again helping us to break down the barriers for young people with a disability in gaining employment. A huge thank you to Marks and Spencer's for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need. Want to see Ashonte in action? Click here to watch the inspiring video!

From Aspiration to Action

By Saanvi Goyal • January 18, 2025

We’re thrilled to announce a fantastic milestone for our incredible intern, Tayyab, who has just secured a placement as an Assistant at Absolutely Karting in Maidenhead! 🎉 Thanks to the unwavering support of @absolutelytogether and their belief in our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme, Tayyab is now starting an exciting chapter as part of a dynamic team. 🏎️ In his new role, Tayyab will be interacting with customers, managing bookings, and assisting on the tracks as groups arrive. This opportunity marks the beginning of his journey from aspiration to action, and we couldn’t be prouder of his progress. A huge thank you to Absolutely Together for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.

A Successful Partnership

By Saanvi Goyal • January 14, 2025

🎉Huge shout out to the fabulous Coppid Beech Hotel (part of the Nike Group) for supporting our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme! Thanks to their support, our intern, Matthew, has secured a placement at the hotel. 🏨 He’s now part of a small, supportive team of facilities/maintenance professionals. We are incredibly grateful for Coppid Beech Hotel’s commitment to supporting young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.

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