Learning / Education
Inclusive work
Bristol Supported Internships are work-focused programmes of study that help students with autism or a learning disability to gain the necessary skills for work. Run by City of Bristol College in partnership with Bristol City Council and Sixteen Co-operative, the internships equip young adults with vocational skills and qualifications to take into future paid employment.
“The programme focuses on young people ages 18 to 25 discovering what they are able to do,” says Sixteen locality manager, Sheren Wyatt. The co-operative and social enterprise was set up in 2011 to offer an employment service to young people with a learning disability.
Sheren Wyatt is the locality manager for Sixteen, who run the supported internship programme along with City of Bristol College and Bristol City Council
“They can find it really difficult to find out what they want to be,” Sheren says of the young people Sixteen helps. “They may not have been given the opportunity to explore for themselves what they want to do. Some are slightly pigeon-holed before they come to us: not intentionally, but because it’s really hard for people with autism to think about what to do if they’ve never tried it. The internship allows young people to try these skills out.”
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A vast number of local employers are involved in the scheme, including the Holiday Inn, The Kitchen run by the YMCA at The Island and Bristol City Council. Collectively, they offer young people jobs that range from making bread and cakes in the catering sector, hospitality and administration roles, painting and decorating, and animal care work.
Having the young people in the workforce can reduce the stigma surrounding employing and working with autism and learning disabilities for everyone.
“Not only has it changed the workforce by being kinder and more supportive of each other, it’s helped the workforce understand anybody, not just people with learning difficulties and autism,” Sheren says. “It’s also given employers the chance to become mentors.”
After the year ends for the interns, they continue to receive support from their job coaches, individuals who work with both the students and their employers.
“Job coaches create vocational profiles, talking to careers, family and employers,” says Sheren. “They work with the young people throughout the whole year getting to know them and supporting every aspect of working life, like making sure they have the right uniform and assisting on their commute.”
Andrew Shaw is a recent graduate of the supported internships, and was helped to get his dream job working with children
The scheme has given huge opportunities to young people hungry to earn a living and prove themselves. “When I left the internship, Sixteen worked with me and supported me to find a job as an assistant in a nursery,” says Andrew Shaw, a recent graduate of Bristol Supported Internships. “I was told I would never get a job with children, but with Sixteen I got my dream job.
“Sixteen are really good and helpful. They have built up my confidence and that helped me get a job.”
For Sheren, who has worked in the field of supported employment for the past 18 years, recognising success is a vital part of the process: “It shows and proves to employers that these young people can work and are more than capable of doing so.”
“We’ve seen whole families change,” she adds. “I explained the internship programme to a parent at a careers evening, and she started crying when she saw there was a chance for her son to get a job and become independent.”
Find out more about Bristol Supported Internships by visiting www.sixteencoop.co.uk
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