Four young people with learning needs offered permanent roles at Hinckley offices

04 Aug 2015

  • National Grid to expand the EmployAbility - Lets Work Together programme after intern success
  • Calls to other companies to widen the scheme throughout the region

Four young people with learning needs and disabilities have been offered permanent jobs after completing a pioneering National Grid scheme.

The EmployAbility - Let's Work Together programme, which was launched last year, is specially designed to help such students to find employment.

Three pupils from the Oak Wood Secondary School in Nuneaton - Megan Moran, Harry Potten and Mac Wright - and Beth Asher and Matthew A'Hearne-Kehoe from the Dorothy Goodman Academy in Hinckley, successfully completed their internships.

Megan, Harry, Mac and Matthew will be staying on at National Grid Hinckley in permanent roles. Beth has chosen to pursue her passion for performing arts and is looking to enroll on a college course.

David Tilley, National Grid's control centre manager, said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome these youngsters into our team. They have shown great maturity and perseverance during their time with us, and have secured jobs through hard work, merit and skills. They have been inspirational and demonstrated some special talents."

And Kevin Latham, head teacher at Oak Wood Secondary School added: "We are incredibly proud of our pupils' achievements. They were given a fantastic opportunity by National Grid and all of them grasped it with both hands and worked hard and well. They thoroughly deserve this life-changing chance."

Following a successful first year National Grid is expanding its EmployAbility programme from September with 20 students being offered internships in four of its locations across the country.

But, National Grid is aware that there is a limit to how many opportunities it can offer and that many more life changing openings can be created by working with other companies that may want to adopt the model. More companies are needed in Leicestershire and the East Midlands to join EmployAbility and build on its achievements.

National Grid is one of a few UK companies with a specially designed strategy to help students with learning disabilities.

In partnership with local special needs schools, the company has created a simple model for EmployAbility; a number of roles are identified that interns can fill. The interns then spend a full academic year performing two or three roles each, supported by full time job coaches from the schools. People on the company's graduate scheme take lead roles in organising and supporting the interns and in turn develop their own skills and disability awareness.

The Department of Education says that a student with learning disabilities has only a seven-per-cent chance of finding paid work. The cost to the community of supporting someone who doesn't get into employment through their life is £1 million per person.

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