Merry Hill helps young adults with special educational needs

27 Mar 2023

Published in: Patron

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Merry Hill helps young adults with special educational needs

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Merry Hill helps young adults with special educational needs and learning disabilities gain work experience

Merry Hill is working with Dudley College of Technology to bring its Supported Internship Programme to the centre – as the first major employer in the Dudley area to get involved.

Through this structured work-based study programme, Merry Hill is giving four young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) the opportunity to take their first steps into work.

Each of the young adults have commenced six-month-long placements at the centre from January to June 2023.

As one of the leading employers in the West Midlands, supporting over 8,000 jobs, the centre’s wide range of departments has allowed all four interns to pursue their own interests.

Picking an area of the business they are most passionate about, now working across catering, maintenance, and customer services.

More than halfway through their placements, the interns are well into their roles and already thriving with the support of the Merry Hill team. The young adults are learning and growing in a supportive workplace setting, allowing them to gain real employability, work skills and independence.

The introduction of the Supported Internship programme at Merry Hill comes in time for the inaugural National Supported Internship Day being recognised on 27th March in the UK.

The awareness day seeks to challenge the everyday misconceptions and pre-set work cultures that all-too-often unfairly shape the lives of young adults with a learning disability and autism across the UK and comes off the back of a mission to double the number of supported internships in England to 4,500 per year by March 2025.

Christina Martin, Retail Liaison Manager at Merry Hill, said: "The Supported Internship Programme is a fantastic scheme which is giving these young adults the chance to grow their skills and confidence alongside our amazing teams at Merry Hill.

Thanks to the intern’s eagerness to progress and learn, they have already been a huge success and we’re enjoying supporting their journey.

“As a leading local employer, we know it’s our duty to help our community access support and opportunities. We encourage other businesses in our community to consider supporting the programme and to help recognise the importance of these internship placements for the huge platform they offer young adults in the local area with special educational needs and disabilities.”

Kate Gibbs, Aspire Job Coach at Dudley College of Technology, said: “Supported internships provide a programme for learners to move from education into employment. The interns spend most of their time in the workplace with the support of a specially trained job coach, who will help them gain confidence and independence, enabling them to become valued members of staff.

“The involvement of local employers is key in creating accessible opportunities for paid employment for local young people with SEND.

“Merry Hill have gone above and beyond working alongside Dudley College of Technology to offer inspirational and professional support for those taking their first steps into the world of work, towards paid employment.”

To be eligible for the programme, young adults aged 16-24 with SEND must have Educational Healthcare Plan (EHCP) and currently be enrolled in full-time education.

For more information on Supported Internships through the Dudley College of Technology, visit: https://dudleycol.ac.uk/ or email: susan.thornton@dudleycol.ac.uk.