Supported internships - everything you need to know

Read about some of our brilliant successes from students who have benefited from a Supported Internship. 

Meet Jack 

Name: Jack  

Lives: Stockton-on-Tees  

Studied: Supported Internship at Stockton Riverside College  

Previous school: Abbey Hill Academy Sixth Form 

Reason to celebrate  

Jack secured a role as a yard assistant at Smithfield Timber in Middlesbrough after impressing bosses on a work placement as part of his supported internship.  

Jack, who has autism, said: "At first it was a bit difficult as I was trying to cope with everything and dealing with new people, but I got used to it, the people are nice, I like the work, and now I feel like I'm where I want to be." 

Next steps  

The Supported Internship aims to help young people with additional learning support needs to build the skills and confidence to take their next steps in life. Gaining employment has got to be the ultimate goal. Jack now hopes to continue to progress at work. 

Meet Dominic 

Dominic attended Abbey Hill Sixth Form College but felt that he wanted to progress into the world of work, but at age 18 he felt he needed some help to do so, therefore he applied for Project Choice to help him achieve his goal.  

Being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and complex neuro-development difficulties, Dominic found social interaction difficult along with having some co-ordination difficulties.  

Dominic also struggles with anxiety often caused by classroom environments, which resulted in his attendance being below 20% during his time at school.  

At Project Choice Dominic completed all three of his work placements within the Portering Service at the University Hospital of North Tees. During his time with Portering Services, Dominic has developed and grown beyond any expectations. Dominic has continued to take on new duties and responsibilities week on week. 

Dominic now works completely independently around the hospital, completing all jobs which are radioed to him by the portering supervisors. Another success that Dominic achieved is that his attendance has significantly improved to over 90% with him never missing a day of work placement! Dominic has now secured a job within the portering service at the hospital. 

Meet Hazifa 

Hazifa attended Abbey Hill Academy Sixth Form where she completed her Pathway 2 course, she left with Functional skills Entry Level 1 in Literacy and Numeracy, Entry Level 3 in Science and Child Development and Entry Level 2 in Art.  

Hazifa moved to Stockton Riverside College and studied ICT and Employability, which included a work experience placement where she demonstrated she was quite the salesperson! 

Following this Hazifa accessed a Supported Internship at Choices College through Health Education England working for the North Tees and Hartlepool Trust.  

She initially worked at the hospital site but is now working in administration in the Learning Disabilities department. 

Rachel's loving it!

Rachel completed her catering qualifications at Stockton Riverside College before starting her Supported Internship. She completed a work placement at McDonalds followed by an interview.  

Rachel was successful and is now employed at McDonalds. A year on, Rachel has increased her weekly hours and is still employed at McDonalds and is 'loving it'! 

Interested 

If you think a Supported Internship is the right choice for you then get in touch with our friendly team to find out more. You can contact the Special Educational Needs team by emailingsensection@stockton.gov.uk or by calling 01642 527145.