Project | SEARCH - Plymouth

Project | SEARCH is a year-long internship programme, aimed at supporting young people with a learning disability and/or autism to move towards and into work.

In Plymouth, this is a partnership between Pluss, Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust and City College Plymouth.

Project | SEARCH helps young people in Plymouth achieve employment and independence.

Eligibility

Project | SEARCH Plymouth is aimed at young people between the ages of 18-25 with either a learning disability and/or autism.

More about this internship:

Interns receive training and support before and after each day’s work placements.

You will also receive on-the-job support from dedicated job coaches and will complete three rotations of 10-week placements, across several departments and services.

You will develop your employment skills by working in real jobs in Derriford Hospital.

You will be supported to experience three different work placements as you learn skills that employers are looking for.

As well as working in the hospital, you will complete a Level 1 Certificate in Employability and take part in Functional Skills Maths and English sessions.

Experienced teaching and employment advisory staff will support you every step of the way.

On successful completion, you may progress into paid employment, apprenticeships or further individualised vocational training.

Monday to Friday, 9am until 4pm, over one academic year, with a start date in September.

This programme is also run in Exeter. Click to find out more about Project | SEARCH Exeter.

Our Project | SEARCH sites have a combined job outcome rate of over 70%.

#NoOneLeftBehind

Project | SEARCH adopts the supported employment model, which argues that learning how to do a job well within the workplace (as opposed to in a classroom) is the most effective way for people with a learning disability to achieve paid work.

The model was first developed in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to support people with learning disabilities into work. Project | SEARCH now runs in over 200 organisations around the world.

It aims to help remove significant barriers faced by people with learning disabilities looking for employment.

In the UK, for example, only 7% of people with learning disabilities nationally are in any form of paid work, compared with 73% of the wider population.

The end goal for each student is to achieve competitive employment either with the host employer or elsewhere in the community using the skills they have acquired.