Official Opening Ceremony of Supported Internship partnership with Liverpool City Council

Tuesday, November 27th, 2018
This post is in: News

Supported Interns with their families, placement managers and Liverpool City Council workers

We were delighted to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Intern to Work Supported Internship Programme with Liverpool City Council at Cunard Building on Friday 23 November. The event was to officially welcome our supported interns who have been placed in the Liverpool City Council Childrens’ Workforce provision across the city.

In attendance were Cllr Barbara Murray, the Cabinet Member in Liverpool City Council with responsibility for Education, Steve Reddy, Director of the Children and Young People’s Directorate at Liverpool City Council, Suzanne Metcalf, Assistant Director, Children and Young People’s Directorate and programme sponsor for the Intern to Work Supported Internship Programme. The placement managers who have taken students under their wing were also in attendance – Chris Kelly, Short Breaks Team at Parkstile, Debra Canon, Bellevale Children’s Centre and Mick Nagle, Short Breaks, Prescot Drive. Curriculum Manager Anne Kinsella came along with students Thomas Wilkinson, George Gilligan and Abbie Woodford and Job Coach, Karen Haskayne who supports students in their roles.

Interns have been in their placements for a month and have already made great progress. George’s initial reaction when he first started his internship was “This Is Big! This is such a big thing for me. I had only done short work experience placements before this, so it is a big challenge for me. Part of the job means I have to answer people’s queries on the telephone which is something that I found difficult because I don’t usually speak to people on the phone. I have learnt that if I am struggling, all I need to do is ask one of the other staff members who are always willing to help.”

Chris Kelly from Short Breaks, Parkstile said: “Having George in the office has been a very positive experience. Not only is it a chance for George to learn new skills but for us too as we have had to look at different ways of communicating and supporting him to ensure we are inclusive. For example, when George said he was having problems when using the telephone we came up with doing some mock calls with him to help build his confidence.”

We are committed to working alongside  Liverpool City Council to ensure that the programme is successful in supporting young people with additional needs gain paid employment.

Anne Kinsella, Curriculum Manager said “Supported Internships are all about promoting opportunities for disabled young people in the City to actively engage in the world of work, challenge preconceptions and the low employment rate of disabled people in Liverpool.”

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