13 Mar The 2024 Supported Internship Fair
On 28 February 2024, West London Alliance and West London College hosted the Supported Internship Fair.
The fair brought together almost 300 people and visitors heard from a series of inspirational former interns and employers. The former interns shared their internship journey and getting a job or moving into an inclusive apprenticeship. There were 16 major employers represented at the event, and attendees were able to find out about the range of internships on offer and make application for supported internships on the day.
Event organiser Bhavna Bilimoria from West London Alliance said: “The importance of the supported internships is that young people with learning disabilities are gaining excellent work experience with outstanding employers while being carefully supported in their job roles and in classroom learning to ensure they succeed.“
This video shows the journey of our interns and the confidence they have gained after completing the internship program and transitioned into paid employment .
Matilda, Oliver, Thanujan, Will and Troy are all current or former supported interns who spoke at the event.
Matilda was a supported intern last year and is now working full time at Monkey Puzzle, a day nursery in Ealing, which she loves. Matilda said: “I am now earning my own money and I can save to buy the things I want.”
Oliver works as a supported intern at Northwick Park Hospital. He’s now on his third rotation in the hospital’s central stores. Oliver says: “My manager and mentor told me job roles are coming up and he asked me to apply for them.”
Thanujan, a graduate of the supported internship scheme, works as a porter at Central Middlesex Park Royal Hospital Radiologist. Thanujan said: “I pushed through barriers to get where I am today” and advised fellow supported interns to strive for what they want to achieve too – “go for what you want, the sky’s the limit!”
Will, was a supported intern a few years ago. One of his rotations was at Nando’s and he said his “passion and love for working at Nando’s” was spotted by his employer, and he was quickly offered a paid job. Will also works as a Learning Support Apprentice at West London College and says “Once I complete my apprenticeship, I would like to work in a primary school.”
Troy described his initial trepidation, which turned instantly into excitement for his supported internship programme once he started. Troy learned a lot from the rotations, which included a media role with the WLC Marketing team. He now works at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, in media production role making a Youth Voice video. For the future, Troy says: “I’d like to become a media production apprentice and ultimately work in the music industry.”
Click here to watch a short video of the Supported Internship Fair
More information can be found here: WLC HOSTS WEST LONDON SUPPORTED INTERNSHIP FAIR – https://www.wlc.ac.uk/2024/03/wlc-hosts-west-london-supported-internship-fair/