A programme which provides paths to employment for disabled young adults has returned, with new opportunities for internships in the Capital.
Edinburgh’s Project SEARCH has been helping people to gain vital employment skills and prepare for work since 2014 and is back after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic.
This year, 21 young people will be able to take forward placements, including roles with the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian. For the first time, seven of these positions will be available with Virgin Hotels Edinburgh, which has signed up to become the programme’s first new employer in seven years.
Internships will be complemented with additional training and a ‘ready for work’ qualification from Edinburgh College.
Councillor Kate Campbell, Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Our goal is that 100% of the people who join Project SEARCH find employment before the end of the course or quickly after graduating.
“It’s an opportunity to support young people so that they can build confidence and learn the skills they’ll need to have fulfilling careers. But it’s also an opportunity for organisations to learn how they can become better employers, providing opportunities for young disabled people who may face additional barriers, and even more so with the pandemic.
“As employers learn more about the benefits to their organisation from becoming a disability confident employer, I hope opportunities for young disabled people will increase across the city.
“So, it’s fantastic to have private sector, as well as public sector, employers involved this year.”
Mandy Watt, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Vice Convener, added: “Some of the young people applying to Project SEARCH have graduated from school virtually – and now they face the prospect of not knowing how to take their first step into the world of work.
“Disability shouldn’t be a barrier to entering employment, but we know that all too often it is. Programmes like this are working to change things and open learning and employment opportunities for our young people, allowing them to work towards their own futures.
“The addition of Virgin Hotels to the list of employers on board is really welcome news. It sets a new standard for other organisations to consider signing up. As one of the city’s newest hotels, the partnership will create even more diverse roles for people to try out and learn from.”
Adam Gray, Regional Director of People, Scotland for Virgin Hotels said: “We are really looking forward to being the first hospitality organisation to take part in Project SEARCH in Edinburgh.
“Our new hotel opening creates lot of opportunity for employment in Edinburgh and we feel the young people from Project SEARCH are a great fit for Virgin. We pride ourselves on creating an open, diverse culture for our teammates where they can come to work and be their true self.
“We cannot wait to get started meeting the young people and creating meaningful placement opportunities for them.”
Rory Young, a Project SEARCH graduate who now works full time for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I joined Project SEARCH in August 2019 and completed three placements during my internship.
“The Project really helped me to gain a variety of office-based work experience and increase my confidence within a workplace and I was supported with job seeking and job skills.
“I’ve now working as a Licensing Support Assistant. I do a variety of tasks such as dealing with all mail, printing, and issuing licenses, updating licence records, and supporting colleagues who are managing applications. I’m really enjoying the job and have fitted in really well with all my colleagues.”
The Project SEARCH course has been designed to support young people to learn relevant and transferrable skills while working in a business environment. Participants will take part in three internships where they can learn new skills and improve their confidence, while gaining over 800 hours of work practice.
Everyone enrolled will be supported by an employment specialist and a learning and engagement officer and all study works towards an SQA Employability Award that demonstrates job readiness to employers.
Types of internships available previously have included administration, reception, mailroom, catering, hospitality, librarian, portering, domestic assistant, stores department and clinical support work.
To be eligible for Edinburgh Project SEARCH you must:
- Be between 16 and 29 years old
- Want to secure a full-time job (16+ hours)
- Be based in the Lothians
- Have a recognised disability
- Be willing to commit to the programme full-time for one year
- Be able to travel alone or learn how to do this by the time the course starts.
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