Supported Internship - information for employers

Preparing young people for employment

Supported Internship Benefits to Employers

Having a Supported Intern is at no additional cost to an employer or business as it is funded by the government. It does require a little investment in the form of time and support. The programme gives your current employees experience in training and mentoring and allows you to design a programme that suits both the need of your business and the needs of the Intern.

Supported Internship (SI) is a study programme which provides an excellent transition into meaningful paid work for young people aged 16-24 with an Education, Health, and Care plan (EHCP).

A pilot programme in 2024 is also supporting learners with additional needs (and no EHCP) to access Supported Internships across four sites in Hampshire. Contact [email protected] to find out more.

A key component of the SI is the completion of a substantial period of work experience with an employer that may lead to part time or full-time employment. Young people with an EHCP have a special educational need, this could include one or more of the following: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional, and mental health and sensory and/or physical needs.

An effective partnership underpins the success of the SI and enables the best opportunity for interns to succeed. Working together ensures standards are upheld and there is openness and transparency, sharing effective practice with a commitment to high standards and continuous quality improvement.

Hampshire Achieves (HA) and employer commitment enables interns’ skills to be developed well. Everyone is committed to the high-quality of the SI and there is an open, transparent approach to sharing the effective practice of the SI programme.

Skills Coaches (SC) support young people with learning difficulties and disabilities and academic, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Skills coaches are part of the delivery through the Learning Support team.

Supported Internship offers an opportunity for employers to understand and partake in a program that supports and emphasises the potential of SEN (Special Educational Needs) young people and their importance and value in the workplace and can also help you understand the process of becoming a disability confident employer.

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I would strongly recommend other employers to get involved in offering placements and working with the Employment and Skills Hub. It’s a very rewarding experience and is a long-term investment that supports recruitment solutions, provides a brighter future for young people and creates a positive work environment
Tony Richards, Graduate Landscapes

How to provide a work placement for a learner on Supported Internship

Participation and Lifelong Learning has received overwhelming support from departments, managers, and organisations in offering placements to learners in the past and now asks you to consider offering a nine-month work placement to a young person. The start date for new cohorts is November through to July.

If you are interested in offering a placement, please advise your Departmental Co-ordinator/Manager, or if your organisation is outside of Hampshire County Council, please email [email protected] or [email protected].

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Giving young people experiences and opportunities
Runways End Outdoor Centre

Principles for good quality work placements

  • Choice and relevance of placements to be offered in sectors that are relevant to a young person interest, skill, need and considers their long-term aspiration whilst undertaking high quality work experience
  • Organisational readiness in the form of commitment from senior managers or supporting manager and a low ratio of interns to experienced staff
  • Pre-placement preparation by Hampshire Achieves, employer, skills coach and prospective intern and an understanding of young peoples’ circumstances that may affect their workplace behaviour
  • Written agreement made between the intern, employer, skills coach, and provider, setting out mutual expectations and commitments, including the training plan and arrangements for reviews
  • A planned placement, structured induction, clear objectives and integrated off-the-job training, with an identified mentor or buddy
  • Regular constructive feedback and reviews from managers

For more information contact [email protected].

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