Agenda item

The Committee were presented an update on Supported Internships, the report which had been circulated to members in the agenda. Key highlights from the discussion included:

·       The programme was highly successful

·       The ambition was for a council led internship programme that provided work based learning opportunities to people; currently the programme tended to use a lot of support for internship programmes.

·       The programme had experienced a boost recently owing to a grant from the Department for Education (DfE). Officers only learned of the grant in October 2022 and the first tranche of money has been spent. The DfE was contacted today to say how it was spent.

·       Conditions included an employment forum and an action plan.

·       The programme was looking to learn from other local authorities who were taking a similar approach such as Hounslow and Hackney.

·       All previous participants on supported internship programmes have been contacted. All  five people from the 18/19 cohort are fully employed. Participants have also been contacted regarding their journey and a tracking sheet has been created to capture this. A report with analysis will also be created.

·       The programmes referred to included:

o   Project Search Whittington Hospital

o   Project Search Moorfields Eye Hospital

o   The Autism Project - Care Trade

o   Project Search – Great Ormond Street Hospital

o   Royal Mencap Society

o   Transport For London (Steps Into Work)

o   Project Choice (Health Education England)

o   GLL Leisure Centres (Steps into Work)

·       There was a big offer, full with opportunities, but not all avenues were full. Some of the opportunities may even be suited to young people who were more entrepreneurial. The issue was getting awareness out there.

·       Many supported internships resulted in roles being taken up in hospitals, leisure, transport, as well as traineeships.

·       Working group set up and will meet soon

·       There needed to be greater mental health support for young people, particularly those transitioning from the safety net of school into the wider world.

·       We have an employment forum, and we are working to develop that and make that more a focus on supported internships. Including partners such as HR and Comms. Celebrating success is key to getting the information out there.

Members were told that there was support from job coaches to do something called systematic instruction, which entailed breaking down responsibilities down into steps until that young person was competent to undertake it independently; job coaches would be supplied by a college as they needed to be trained to a professional level, and officers were trying to get ahead of anticipated demand increase further down the line.

Members were told that it was important to match the aspiration and skills with the right jobs; it was highlighted that Islington had many opportunities and one of the programmes was working with several schools on taster days that were much more focused and in depth than world of work., identifying and focusing on what that young person can do. Members were also told that cross-directorate working with Council officers in culture and employment divisions was in progress to boost publicity and capitalisation of the opportunities.

In response to suggestion from members of the Committee regarding partners in technology from the south of the borough who may want to be involved, particularly concerning artificial intelligence and other areas of technology, members were told that this was important and being looked into. There was anchor institutions such as the Institute of Physics where partnerships could be expanded.

Members of the Committee also noted the possibility of utilising graduates and advocates to establish an alumni network that only not promote the offer, but also provided continued form of support.

ACTION:

The Committee to be provided with the full report and will be on put on the 2023-24 work programme to be presented to members in the later stages of the 2023-24 municipal year.