Enabling entry into employment

As we now approach the end of this academic year, we're starting to see more and more amazing achievements across our supported internship programmes, while continuing to see fantastic outcomes from our other employment-related services also. We’re so impressed by the achievements of the people we support and think you will be too.

Pints of potential untapped

This year, we have seen lots of our learners on our supported internships move from placements to paid jobs with Greene King.??

In Northampton, Ethan started his work placement at The Britannia pub having already worked in two other placements. We arranged for Ethan to complete a 6-week work trial, but within 3 weeks the kitchen staff were so impressed that they told us they would like to offer him a job!??

Oliver overcame many obstacles while on our programme including being forced to move homes due to flooding. But Oliver showed so much resilience and positivity in the face of such challenges, jumping at the opportunity to do a placement at Greene King’s Lumbertubs venue. He did so well there that within just 4 weeks, staff at the pub told us they wanted to keep him and he has now been offered a job.??

Ryan quickly developed positive relationships with the staff and customers at the Crossroads pub where he did work experience. He enjoyed the shifts he was doing, but was nervous at first to try busier shifts. But with some help and support from his Mencap skills coach and Greene King staff, Ryan did a few busy shifts and coped so well that the manager said he would like to offer him paid employment.?

Perserverance pays off for Abhi?

Abhi has recently completed our supported internship in south west London, having previously completed our pre-internship programme the year before. He first did work experience at a pub and did an amazing job, but sadly they did not have any vacancies that would have allowed them to offer him a job.??

But this did not deter Abhi who has come so far in terms of his confidence and social and communication skills since we started working with him. He has always shown great eagerness to find a paid job, as he is currently preparing for his driving test and really wants to save for a car.

In June, Abhi absolutely smashed his interview at Marks and Spencer’s flagship store in Paddington and secured himself a permanent customer assistant role on a 20-hour contract. Abhi is over the moon, and we can’t wait to see what he goes on to achieve in his career.??

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Employer of the month?

We are very pleased to announce that our employer partner of the month award went to Wincanton!?

Wincanton have long been a great supporter of our supported internship programme in Staffordshire, with 4 job outcomes so far this year for our learners who have completed work experience at their Trentham, Lichfield, Stafford and Branston sites. They have previously been nominated for the award, so the win could not be more highly deserved.

In nominating them for this month, our team had this to say:?

“All learners and our skills coaches are made to feel part of the team from day one. Wincanton ensure learners have access to an internal buddy at all times on site who works alongside our own staff and set up achievable tasks, encouraging the learners to be brave and to try different areas of work available to them.?They have made reasonable adjustments for all our learners without question. All staff at Wincanton are so passionate and positive about the programme that we offer.”???

We presented Wincanton staff with their award at our end of year celebration event for our Staffordshire cohort which they kindly agreed to hold at their Lichfield site. We already have confirmation that Wincanton will look to host a minimum of 6 to 10 learners in work placements in Staffordshire next year and we can’t wait to grow this wonderful relationship further.

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Elyse’s story?

Elyse has been on our Worcestershire supported internship this year. She started work experience at Tesco in January and made excellent progress in this placement, working alongside staff in several departments across the store.?

Elyse developed her communication and teamwork skills while learning a range of job specific tasks like stock replenishment, date rotation, rumbling, security tagging, customer service and reductions.?

Elyse has been described by her colleagues as “a fast learner, a hard worker, polite, helpful and a pleasure to work with."

Elyse recently attended an interview at Tesco independently and was successful in securing a paid role in the Dotcom team, picking items from the store for delivery to customers who have made orders online. This is a huge achievement which Elyse is immensely proud of.?

She also recently passed her driving test which has increased her independence even further. Congratulations Elyse on all your amazing achievements!?

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Brilliant outcomes in Barnet?

Our Barnet supported employment service, that works with people with a learning disability aged 18+ to help them find a job, has continued to support people to make some incredible achievements in recent months.

In 2024 so far, they have supported 19 people into work including Maansi who landed a job working at the BBC through Mitie and Sacha who secured a role as a cleaner at The Shard, also with Mitie. Ahmad’s hard work and perseverance paid off when he secured a sales job at a dairy factory following his 9th interview!??

We have also supported 2 people to set up in self employment. Mathew has started a business selling mushrooms that he grows himself and now has a market stall at the East Finchley Farmers Market. Sade, meanwhile, turned her passion for baking into Emily's Cakes. She's now fully booked until the end of August and we highly recommend trying her delicious creations.

Self-employment can prove a good fit for some people with SEND. If you would like to find out more about how you can go about becoming self-employed, there are some useful, accessible guides on the rapid enterprise development website.??

The hard work and passion of our caseworker, Zeeshan, who has helped to deliver these amazing outcomes for the people we support was recognised this month when he was nominated to represent Mencap at the Royal Garden Party Awards that celebrates contributions in public service and community work.

Zeeshan said: “It still doesn’t feel real that I met William. It’s a testament to the incredible impact we’re making together at Mencap. This nomination is for all of us!”?

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Celebrating the end of another fantastic year?

As we approach the end of another academic year, our supported internship teams have been busy organising celebration events where learners, their parents and carers, and employers who have supported them can come together to recognise their achievements.??

Our central London cohort held their event at St Luke’s Church in Islington, where some learners had done work experience in cleaning roles. Every learner received a certificate for completing the programme and we got to hear about some of the things they’d done while on the programme like learning to use the buses, working on specific tasks at work and making great new friendships. Learners’ special talents were also on display with the event featuring a piano recital, an acrobatic display and some amazing singing!??

In Birmingham, meanwhile, we were kindly hosted by The Midlands Art Centre who have hosted many of our learners on work experience placements this year. And in Worcestershire, learners celebrated coming to the end of their programme by getting out and about, playing a round of crazy golf and visiting a dinosaur exhibition at the museum.??

A huge congratulations to all our learners completing their programmes this year. We can’t wait to see what you do next!?

Please visit our website for more information on employment.