Preparing for adulthood: Studying, training and employment

To take part in a supported internship, you must:

• Be aged 16 to 24 years old
• Have an Education, Health and Care plan (often referred to as and EHCP)

Supported internships are delivered through partnerships between education providers and employers. Interns usually spend:

• Up to five days per week in a work placement
• With learning delivered at the beginning and end of each day to reinforce workplace skills

Work placements vary in duration:

• Some run across a six-month period with scheduled days each week
• Others are shorter placements, lasting around ten weeks with different rotations across the year.

Interns spend the majority of their time in the workplace, gaining hands-on experience while continuing to study English and Maths, where appropriate.

We currently have the following Supported Internships:

• Bromley Council Supported Internship
• NHS Supported Internship at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) – Project Search
• ISS @ Queen Marys Hospital – Project Search
• London South East Colleges Supported Internship

Each intern receives tailored support, including access to a 1:1 job coach, if needed, to help build skills and confidence in the workplace. Supported internships offer:

• Real-world work and life experience
• A deeper understanding of the world of work
• Support in developing a CV and professional identity
• Opportunities to build skills, confidence, and independence
• Raised aspirations for interns, their families, and employers
• A chance to explore whether a chosen career path is the right fit
• Ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition into the workplace

The ultimate goal of a supported internship is to help the intern move into sustainable paid employment. Interns leave with:

• Valuable experience
• Improved confidence and workplace skills
• A clearer sense of career direction
• A stronger foundation for independence and adult life

Read Will’s Story

Project SEARCH interns win awards - Bromley Mencap

Read Erica’s Story

Project SEARCH success at the PRUH | King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust  

Read Jonathan’s Story

"My colleagues are very supportive. It's a friendly pharmacy team"

 This year we continued our partnership with DFN Project SEARCH and local organisations in Bromley to deliver an internship scheme at PRUH to provide work experience for young adults with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Jonathan Pang was one of 12 interns who have recently graduated from Project SEARCH at PRUH. Jonathan celebrated completing the internship scheme with a full-time paid role at the Trust as a pharmacy runner, becoming the fourteenth intern to join King's since Project SEARCH started at the Trust in 2021.

Jonathan said that taking part in Project SEARCH contributed to him becoming a member of Team King's, and said that the help he received from Bromley Mencap was invaluable in helping him with job applications: "My confidence grew whilst doing Project SEARCH." Jonathan said: "I really enjoyed meeting new people and I loved working with my job coaches from Bromley Mencap, who were really friendly and supportive.

"I learned lots of different practical skills which helped me gain paid employment at PRUH."

To deliver Project SEARCH at PRUH, the Trust partners with London South East Colleges Bromley, Bromley Council and Bromley Mencap to help young people with learning disabilities and/or autism gain work experience and help them find employment post-education.

Since joining the pharmacy team at PRUH, he has become an important member of the team; delivering medication to the different wards and ensuring all the wards have the correct medication.

Laura Ford, Advanced Pharmacy Technician at PRUH and Jonathan's line manager said: "We were delighted to offer the role of pharmacy runner to Jonathan. He initially joined the pharmacy team in September 2024 through the Project SEARCH internship scheme and everyone in the team was really impressed with his work ethic and kindness and he made a positive impression on everyone.

"When a role became available we were really pleased that Jonathan decided to apply. He has now been in post for a few months and he is a wonderful addition to the team."

Jonathan added that his colleagues have helped him transition from the internship to full-time work: "I enjoy working in the pharmacy.

"My colleagues are very supportive. It's a friendly pharmacy team."

You can find out more information about Project SEARCH at King's on  our website .

For more information about supported internships in Bromley, including how to apply or connect with local programmes, please contact SEND.Employment@bromley.gov.uk

Supported internships can benefit your business in the following ways:

• Simple model ensures minimal impact on business and intern
• No additional cost – each supported internship is government funded
• Acts as an extended working interview, giving an increased chance of getting the right person for the job
• Interns may have skills currently lacking in existing staff eg. high functioning autism can result in significantly above average accuracy
• Increased workforce diversity, reflecting the communities it serves

Timescales can vary depending on the employer and student needs, this will be reviewed every six weeks. The supported internship placement should last for an academic year (10 months) and allow one day off per week study leave for the intern. Most Internships are completed within 12 months and successful interns move into paid roles within the business.

There is no cost for providing a supported internship.

Work placements for supported internships are unpaid, because participating in an extended work placement is part of the interns programme of study at college or education provider. The primary goal of an intern placement is to help a young person with learning difficulties to develop the skills they need for paid employment.

No, but the college or educational provider will need to complete a health and safety declaration with you.

If you are thinking about hosting an intern, a job coach will work with you to understand the role you have available and to ensure the best job match between the intern and you.

They may also suggest 'job carving', which means working with you to tailor the extended work placement to best meet your business needs, whilst utilising the strengths and abilities of the young person. This might mean that tasks carried out by other employees can be given to the intern, freeing up resource for other staff.

Specialist job coaches will work with you to train the intern, so this does not impact on your everyday operational running of the business.

Businesses need to commit to providing a high-quality work experience opportunity, which is substantial and meaningful for the young person.

The supported internship placement should last for an academic year (10 months) and allow one day off per week study leave for the intern.

You will need to provide effective line management and supervision of the intern as you would with other employees, although a lot of support will be provided by the job coach, especially at first.

The placement should enable the interns to develop new skills and behaviours, engage in purposeful work-related learning, and have the confidence to take the first step in their career to secure a traineeship, apprenticeship, or other employment.

Getting the right young person into the right job role with the right employer is critical to the success of an individual internship. The education provider will work with you to identify a job role that fulfils a real business need for your organisation and ensure that someone is matched to the job role for the extended work placement. The role can develop over time as you get to know what the young person can do.

The education provider or specialist job coach will work with you to arrange the induction and settling in period and provide as much support as is needed throughout this time. The job coach will also support you to make any reasonable adjustments that may be needed. As the young person becomes more confident and able, the job coach will gradually withdraw their support, but you will still be able to contact them at any time if any issues arise.

Every effort will have been made to match your business with the most suitable intern, but if something goes wrong, the job coach should be your first point of contact to resolve any issues. It may be a skills gap, a difference in expectations between the intern and employer, a behaviour concern or simply a misunderstanding by the young person or employer. If it becomes clear that the work placement is no longer viable, the job coach will work with you to bring it to an end. Either the job coach, college or education provider will discuss why things went wrong, and whether to consider placing another young person with you.

The aim of supported internships is to prepare young people with learning difficulties for employment. As the intern has been fulfilling a real business need in your organisation, you should consider whether you can take them on as a paid member of staff at the end of their internship. This won’t always be possible: you may not be in a position to recruit, or the intern may not have met the required standards. You can still play an important part in helping an intern achieve employment elsewhere, e.g. by providing a reference, recommending the intern to other employers, or giving honest feedback about the skills and/or behaviours that the young person still needs to develop.

Interns are covered by the employer’s insurance as if they were an employee.