Supported Internships

Subject to availability and sector interest, we are able to offer a small number of young people a work placement under a Supported Internship.

Supported Internships are for young people with learning difficulties and / or disabilities, aged 16 to 24, with a Statement of Special Educational Needs, a My Plan, a Learning Difficulty Assessment, or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) who want to move into employment and need extra support to do so. The overall goal of Supported Internships is to move young people with additional needs into paid employment. Working in partnership with the Young Person’s Educational Provider. This is an unpaid work-based study programme that usually lasts for one year. It includes an extended work placement that lasts for at least 6 months stepping from education into the workplace while gaining the skills you need to get a paid job.

What you'll do as a supported intern:

On a supported internship, you’ll spend the majority of your time in the work place, developing your skills for employment.

A supported internship includes:

• an unpaid work placement of at least 6 months
• support from a qualified job coach
• a personalised study programme, including the chance to study a relevant qualification, if suitable, and English and maths to an appropriate level

Every young person is supported in the work placement by a trained job coach, put in place by their education provider. The job coach provides in-work support that tapers off, if appropriate, as the supported intern becomes familiar with their role. Job coaches also work with employers, increasing their confidence in employing individuals with additional needs and helping them to create and support a diverse workforce. Some of the Educational providers that we are collaborating with are Petroc College, The Deaf Academy and Bicton College.

Aims of a supported internship:

The aim of supported internships is to support young people with EHC plans to gain paid employment by:

• Supporting them to develop the skills valued by employers
• Enabling them to demonstrate their value in the workplace
• Developing confidence in their own abilities to perform successfully at work.

The measure of success of a supported internship is a transition to sustained and paid employment.

For further information please email dpt.careershub@nhs.net

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