Extra help to get young SEND people in North East Lincolnshire into work
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Employment Forum has launched today.
Last updated 29th Nov 2023
Businesses in North East Lincolnshire are being encouraged to recruit young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as part of the new SEND Employment Forum launching today.
The Forum will help educate businesses on the benefits of offering young SEND people work opportunities through supported internships from DFN Project Search - as some employers don't know how to recruit in a way that is most accessible to SEND people.
Laura Bladon, Programme Specialist at DFN Project Search said: "They don't want to make a mistake, they don't want to offend anybody, they don't want to upset anybody which is all really honourable but it's subconsciously setting up a social barrier into employment."
Although young SEND people may need some extra support from employers or have specific needs, Laura said they are just as capable of being valuable employees. She said two of the interns on a recent placement are now ranked in the top five percent for efficiency out of everyone in their workplace.
As well as benefitting the employer, it is hoped internships facilitated by the the new Forum will also help to build the confidence of young people with SEND, with a knock-on effect for their families.
Laura said: "They then have the confidence not just to travel to work but to travel into town to meet friends, maybe even to travel to the seaside or somewhere independently where they didn't have the confidence to do so before.
"We've had quite a few interns' parents turn to us and say 'I can now get a job, I can now go and see my friends' because their young person is happy, in a job and independent."