Words & pic supplied by The Hive College
The Hive College works with young people with disabilities to help prepare them for adulthood. Our motto is “Believing Is Achieving”.
Did you know that just 4.8% of adults with disabilities are in paid work? Shocking, isn’t it? Well, we at The Hive want to change that. We use Supported Internships to help our learners get into paid work.
They are similar to apprenticeships in that the learners spend the majority of their time in the workplace, getting hands-on experience whilst continuing to improve their English, Maths and ICT skills at college.
We send a Job Coach with the learners to ensure they are adding value to the business and have the support they need to put in place any reasonable adjustments they need due to their disabilities.
Over a year, the Job Coaches step back and allow the students to become independent at their job roles until they are no longer needed. At this point the business is expected to offer them an interview for a paid position.
We had great success last year with Reece who is now working as a cleaner for Serco and with Dan who has a job with Danny Sullivan Group (DSG).
About having Reece work at Serco, Gary Tempest, Facility Manager, told: “Reece brightens up every room he enters, and he is loved by all our team and customers.
“His passion, enthusiasm and desire to secure employment was so refreshing. Myself and the team at Northfield can’t wait to welcome into our work family.”
About his job with DSG, Dan Morgan told: “Thanks for helping me on my journey, it’s not the end but more of a new beginning.”
For more on The Hive College visit: www.hivecollege.org.uk
The Hive College is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.
If your school would like to know more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]
