Leading employers pledge support for charity’s internship programme

Katie Partlett

Employers including KPMG, John Lewis and DePuy Synthes/Sodexo are supporting a charity with its Internship Programme.

The Lighthouse Futures Trust has over 25 opportunities for young people with learning disabilities or autism to start an internship this September/October.

The charity is hosting an open day tomorrow (Friday 12 July) at St George’s Conference Centre from 1pm until 5pm for young adults, families and carers to find out more about the opportunities that are available.

For the past three years, Leeds-based charity Lighthouse Futures Trust has been working with a range of national employers to create and develop a Supported Internship programme.  This provides 10-12 month placements for young adults working as part of a team on an employer’s site, fully supported by dedicated Job Coaches.

The scheme has delivered some outstanding results with success rates of up to 80% in terms of interns securing a job or moving into further training as a result of their internship.

When you compare this with standard employment statistics – which reveal that just 4.9% of young people with learning disabilities and 14% of those with autism are in work – you can see just how successful the programme has been.

Interns need to be aged 18-25 and have an EHCP (Education and Health Care Plan) that details employment or a supported internship is a possible destination.  This allows the charity to access funding which means the internship can be provided free of charge to employers.

Although interns don’t get paid during this period, they do gain invaluable work experience which is proven to significantly improve their chances of gaining paid employment at the end.

Lighthouse Futures Trust has also been successful in raising funds for a new Employability Programme that starts in October.

Hidden Talent Recruitment will offer a series of free employability modules for young adults aged 18-30 with a learning disability or autism.  This will provide dedicated, tailored support to help improve employability skills and provide support in job searching.

Further information will be available at tomorrow’s event or by emailing info@lighthousefuturestrust.org.uk.

CEO of Lighthouse Futures Trust, Katie Parlett said: “The statistics for young adults with learning disabilities or autism being in employment are shocking.  Our experience over the past three years shows that many more young people want to be in work and, once they are given the opportunity to display their hidden talents, they make excellent employees.

“They are hard-working, diligent and often have a great attention to detail which means they can spot things that neuro-typical people just don’t see.   Getting a job can, quite literally, be life-changing and provides a future where they contribute to society as opposed to a potential cost of £1m (the average cost of supporting someone with learning disabilities over a lifetime).

“In most cases all they need is an understanding employer and the support that our job coaches provide over their 10-12 month internship.  For the first time since we started we have more vacancies with employers than we have potential interns so we do hope people will get in touch to see if they are eligible.”

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