University inclusion team welcomes young people for day of job tips and training

A group of young people who are being supported to find work recently visited Wrexham Glyndwr University’s inclusion team for a day of tips and training.

The visitors were eight Project Search Interns from Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, accompanied by Programme Leader Gwyn Llewellyn Hughes and Assistant Nia Jones from Coleg Menai.

Project Search, supported by the charity Engage to Change, supports young people aged between 18-25 with a learning disability and/or autism into work placements lasting 10-12 weeks.

Each Intern completes two work placements in different hospital departments across the Ysbyty Gwynedd site, with the aim of helping young people with significant disabilities successfully find a job.

The group were welcomed to the university at the invitation of the Inclusion Services Manager, Sarah Roberts and Assessor, Carol Lewis-Roylance.

Inclusion Services have supported Project Search Interns since the project began at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor in September 2017. Carol is a member of the Project Search Business Liaison Group.

She said: “We were delighted to welcome the group to Wrexham. We’ve already worked with them on-site in Bangor, but being able to show them some of the opportunities our Inclusion Services Team can offer on-site really makes a difference.

“Personal support like that is at the centre of the work we do.

“That support included assistive technology training – showing Interns how to use software which reads text aloud, allowing them to work independently on job searches and job applications.”

The team at Glyndwr have already helped provided the Project Search group with computer equipment – and the assistive technology software they learnt about during their visit.

This equipment was donated by Wyvern Business Systems Ltd., with software donated by Claro Software and Inspiration Software.

As well as the training, which was delivered in the Assessment Centre by Jordan Moss and Carol Lewis-Roylance, the interns also met with Job Centre Employment Adviser Mark Williams, who gave a talk on how to access Job Centre services, with tips on interview techniques.

The day finished with a visit to Techniquest, including the Stardome.

Project Search Programme Leader, Gwyn Llewellyn added: “The Interns had a great time and are still talking about the experience today. Everything was relevant and so important to their professional development.”