Supported internships for 16 to 24 year olds
Supported internship is a work based study programme for 16 to 24 year olds with special education needs and disabilities, who have an education, health and care plan. The internships are unpaid and are a for 12 months. The young people are enrolled with a training provider but spend most of their time within a workplace.
The aim is to support young people with special education needs and disabilities to develop their work skills in order to gain paid employment. This is ideal for young people wanting to gain experience however there are no guarantees of gaining employment. For more information, please contact your special educational needs casework officer or contact us.
There are lots of different sorts of supported internships. The following videos show some of these internships:
Cleaning supported internship based at the Blue Dolphin Holiday Park in Scarborough
Print room supported internship based in the Print room at North Yorkshire Council, Northallerton
Waitressing and hospitality supported internship based at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate
Benefits of a supported internship
- an excellent way to gain experience in the workplace
- allows you to learn while you work on the job - on the job training
- an opportunity to learn new skills that can be applied in future jobs
- support for work related qualifications as well as developing employability skills
- learning maths and English, if required
Type of work that offers supported internships
- office work
- caring for animals
- gardening/landscaping
- warehouse work
- print and media
- hospitality, for example in hotels, restaurants and cafes
Is a supported internship right for you?
A supported internship could be right for you if you:
- are aged 16 to 24 with an Education, Health and Care Plan
- want to become more independent
- will work hard
- want to start working and earning money
- are worried about starting work
How to apply for a supported internship
Contact one of the training providers from the table below, and talk to them about how to apply for a supported internship:
| Type of Provision | Name of Provider | Location | Additional Info | Contact details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supported internship | Blueberry Academy | Northallerton, Scarborough, York |
Andy Bucklee |
|
| Supported internship | Disability Action Yorkshire (DAY) | Harrogate | Disability Action Yorkshire website |
Denise Baynton |
| Supported internship | Groundwork Yorkshire | Selby | Selby Garden Enterprise - Groundwork |
Amanda Scrimgeour |
| Supported internship | Harrogate Skills for Living (HS4L) | Harrogate | Harrogate skills 4 living website |
Chris Murray |
| Supported internship | Right 2 Work | Skipton | Supported Internships - Right2Work |
Lucy Jolliffe |
| Supported internship | Supporting Choice | Scarborough | Supporting choice Facebook page |
Richard Oldale |
| Supported internship | Triage | Northallerton and Scarborough | Triage skills website |
Hannah Carlisle (Northallerton) Nicole Meads (Scarborough) |
| Supported internship | Shaw Trust (Prospects) | Skipton, Harrogate and Selby | Supported internships - Shaw Trust website |
Nicola Brown |
Out of county provider
| Type of Provision | Name of Provider | Location | Additional Info | Contact details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supported internship | Choices College Supported Internship York and Darlington | Darlington, York | Project choice - supported internships NHS page |
Dominic Watson (Darlington) Melanie Slater (York) |
Supported Employment Service
The Supported Employment Service can help carers or people with disabilities to find employment which is matched to their interests and strengths. The team also work with employers, offering them information and support to make the right work-place adjustments.
Who is the service for?
The service works with people living in North Yorkshire who would like to find employment and have eligible care needs under the Care Act. You can find out more about a Care Act assessment on our adult eligibility for social care services page.
You may be eligible for support if you:
- are a carer
- have a learning disability
- have a physical disability or sensory impairment
- are on the autistic spectrum
- have mental health support needs
About Supported Employment
Supported Employment is an evidence based and personalised approach that provides people with the extra help and support they need to find the right job for them. Finding employment is not just about earning an income, it also builds confidence, provides the opportunity to develop skills and meet new people.
What will the service help with?
The service will match you with a member of the team who will work with you on a one to one basis to learn more about your aspirations for work. They will get to know your strengths and skills and can also meet with other people who know you well to build a good picture of your interests and abilities. The team can meet you where you feel most comfortable, whether this is in your home, in the community or at one of our offices.
On the journey to gaining employment the team can:
- work with you and others who know you to build up a picture of what you can do and what job you really want
- find out about your skills and abilities and what jobs these are suited to
- give you the chance to build skills and experience by trying different types of work so you have a better idea of what you would like to do
- if needed, support you to access benefits advice relating to employment so that you know how getting a job will affect your benefits
- help you to improve your confidence
- help you with looking for a job
- help with writing a CV and completing application forms
- support with preparing for and attending interviews
- support you and employers to find suitable recruitment methods
- support with speaking to an employer about any health conditions or work-place adjustments
- continue to support you when you get a job, this may include job coaching to help you learn new tasks or until you complete a training period
The team can also help people who are already employed but would like support to speak to their employer about work-place adjustments, including access to work applications.
Travel information
For a supported internship, travel is slightly different to other provision as transport will come in two different forms. For the education day, you can apply to us for transport. You will need to apply for your transport every year after you are 16 years old. You can get more information and apply on our transport to sixth form or college page and you should apply as soon as you can after the 31 May for September start dates.
Post-16 travel assistance
Transport for the work placement element will be provided by the Access to Work scheme, from the Department for Work and Pensions. Your supported internship provider will make the claim for you and arrange the transport which is in the form of a taxi to and from your home to your work placement. This will be arranged if you live in a rural area and there is no available public transport to get you to and from your work placement or you are unable to travel on public transport. Speak to your training provider who will arrange this for you, they will ask you to supply three taxi quotes and they will then use the cheapest taxi company.