Since starting their Supported Internship programme in September 2017, our seven interns have gone from strength to strength.
Meg has grown in confidence in the workplace and in using public transport. Using her housekeeping schedule to organise and structure her housekeeping tasks, Meg has become increasingly independent in her role. Staff at Young Prospects, where Meg works, report that “Meg has settled in well, and has made a really good impression on everyone”. Chris Lloyd, the manager at Young Prospects has also added that “we are really proud of the way Meg has become part of the team. We are really impressed with the way she interacts with the people we support”. Another area that Meg has excelled in is her travel training. When our Job Coach first met Meg, Meg had no experience of using public transport and limited knowledge of road safety. With support from our Job Coach, Meg has developed her travel skills, and now travels independently to and from Young Prospects in Redhill. Building upon this success, and with further support from our Job Coach, Meg has used her travel training skills to visit her Grandad who lives in Horley. Having worked closely with Meg, our job coach Nick Kinsella says “I am so proud of Meg, and I believe Meg is really proud of herself. Learning to use public transport was a huge deal for Meg. She is so happy that she can travel to and from Horley to visit her Grandad”. Having grown in confidence during her time with the team at Young Prospects, Meg has voiced an interest in other areas of employment including retail, deciding to change placement and join Anam in our charity shop. Although the team at Young Prosects are sad to lose Meg, they are confident she will be huge success.
Like all our supported interns, Anam has grown within his role. He has consistently proven himself to be a valuable team player, who can always be relied on. With support, Anam has grown in confidence, and increasingly works independently without support. The entire team say that Anam is a “friendly, warm-natured individual, and a joy to work with”. Rachel Warner, our shop Manager, says “Anam is ‘Mr Consistent’ – from time-keeping and attendance, to learning new tasks and getting the job done, Anam always delivers, and always with a smile!” With an ambition to work for a major retail store, and with support from our Job Coach and charity shop team, Anam will continue to develop his retail skills including stock management, merchandising, and till work.
Another intern who has gone from strength to strength, is Marc. Marc works at Head Office, supporting the administrative team. Marc has many strengths and has become a valued member of the Head Office team. Quick to pick up new tasks, Marc is able to work with increasing independence. Using a schedule to structure his working day, Marc can work through and complete tasks independent of support. Like his appearance, Marc’s timekeeping and attendance is impeccable. Staff at head office who have worked with Marc report “he has done amazingly well”. His Job Coach, who has supported Marc throughout his time at Head Office, says; “From data entry tasks and tasks involving online research, and large scale filing and scanning tasks to managing incoming and outgoing post, Marc has a can-do attitude, and will always get the job done!”
Like Marc, Josh is based at Head office – but not for too much longer!! Having achieved so much at Head office, Josh is in the process of moving to his second phase placement. During his time at Head office, Josh has impressed many, and achieved so much. His big personality, and affable nature has enabled him to connect with all who work at, and visit, head office, including many people who Active Prospects support. Josh has assisted every team based at head office including our admin and reception team, our IT team, our finance team, and our business development and marketing team. Everyone who has worked with Josh has nothing but positive things to say about Josh, and are naturally sad that he is leaving for pastures new. His line manager, Jay Cross, said: “Josh has been amazing. He has managed the reception area and any admin tasks handed to him with a level of professionalism he should be really proud of”. Another team who have enjoyed working with Josh and are sad to see him leave for another placement are the business development and marketing team. Having been asked to carry out research for a new enterprise project, Josh came up with a name for the project and had a hand in designing its logo – Active Growth. Sue Stockman, Director of Business Development at Active Prospects said “it was great working with Josh. What an amazing young man! He should be really proud of his efforts, and the contribution he has made to this project!”.
Two more interns who have impressed are Jess and Chelsea. Both continue to develop and grow within their placement, but in different ways. Working on alternate days, Jess and Chelsea are learning new skills and increasing their responsibilities within their care setting. From housekeeping duties, to assisting people we support during meal times, in-house activities or on visits to the local community, both Jess and Chelsea are doing an amazing job. To ensure Jess and Chelsea continue to grow with their roles, both will be given the opportunity to study the Care Certificate – a requirement of Active Prospects for every member of staff with ambitions to work within the care sector. With support from the Job Coach, who will undertake the certificate also, and with support from staff at our service The Pines, Jess and Chelsea are excited to study for their Care Certificate, even if they feel a little daunted by the prospect.
Our final supported intern David, works with the Maintenance Team, and often comments that he has a great team around him. As well as being enthusiastic about supporting David to develop his maintenance skills, the Maintenance Team are equally proactive with their support. In addition to scheduled day-to-day tasks, such as painting and decorating, garden maintenance, furniture assembly, removals and transit, the team – comprising of Paul, Colin and Mick – also take it upon themselves to create maintenance problems for David to solve. The entire team said: “We want to do what we can to support David’s progress. If it means creating maintenance type problems to do this, then we will”. Following this the maintenance team had planned to devise a plumbing task for David. As chance would have it, a plumbing emergency came up, and David was tasked to deal with it. With some support, David was able to devise a plan and solve the problem with a fair amount of independence.
A huge well done to all of our Supported Interns who have taken to their programme so well and are working hard to make the most of the opportunities presented to them through this programme.
