Two autistic young people have successfully secured employment following their graduation from a supported internship programme.
Prayer and Taylor were enrolled on the work-based study programme set up by Ambitious about Autism, the national charity standing with autistic children and young
people. The charity is based in Muswell Hill, north London.
Supported internships are courses aimed at young people aged 16-25, who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and want to move into work but need extra
support to do so.
The programme helped the interns learn and develop valuable employability and competitive work skills which they successfully showcased in job interviews and trial
shifts, leading to offers of both part- and full-time work.
Prayer secured a role at a nursery where she has learned sign language to communicate with a deaf child she is working with and Taylor now works full-time at the
Whittington Hospital, Archway, as a porter. He is helping new interns on the programme to settle in and get to know the hospital.
Teacher Gemma Mullan, who runs the programme, said: “We’re incredibly proud of Prayer and Taylor for their achievements in securing employment and to all our other
interns who worked very hard throughout the year, gaining valuable experience and skills.
“It’s been a pleasure to see how they have all grown in confidence and independence and we know they’ll make brilliant colleagues who’ll bring so much to their
roles and workplaces.”
Ambitious about Autism’s supported internship programme was established as part of the charity’s efforts to tackle low employment rates among autistic people.
Shockingly, only 29% of autistic people are in any form of work compared with 81.6% of non-disabled people.
The programme is based at Ambitious about Autism’s Ambitious College, a specialist day college for autistic young people aged 16 to 25. The college has two campuses
situated in partnership with mainstream colleges in north and west London.
The charity also runs a national employment programme called Employ Autism, developed to help autistic people join the workforce by increasing employers’ confidence
in autism and neurodiversity in the workplace. Employ Autism provides training, resources and ongoing mentorship to a wide range of partners across the UK.
There is space for one more young person to join the supported internship programme this year, with applications closing in December.
