Support to help you find a job if you have SEND (Project Search, REAL. Richmond Fellowship and Kirklees College)

What is supported employment?

Supported employment is a way that young people with special needs and / or disabilities can be supported to get and keep a job. Supported employment can also help young people with special needs to learn the skills need to get a job.

Within Kirklees we have four services which can help young people find work, these are:

Project Search
REAL Employment
Richmond Fellowship
Supported Internships from Kirklees College

There is also support available from YH Training, who can provide support for getting an apprenticeship.

Project Search is a unique, one-year internship programme for students with learning disabilities and autism with an EHCP. Project Search is for young people aged 18-24 in their last year of education and matches their skills to roles within a business.

Project search is run by Kirklees College and Kirklees Council.

To apply for Project Search you must have an EHCP (more information can be found on the Local Offer EHCP page).

Students participate in three internships to explore a variety of career paths. Each student works with a team that includes their family, an instructor, job coaches and host business mentors to create an employment goal and support their transition from education to work.

The programme is creating life-changing opportunities and transforming outcomes for young people, with 60% of graduates securing a paid job of over 16 hours per week. As well as gaining transferable and marketable job skills, students also build their personal and professional relationships, confidence and self-esteem.

For more information about Project Search - please go to our Project Search page.

REAL means - Realistic Employment for Adults with Learning Disabilities. The Real Employment service works with people who have a mild to moderate learning disability.

Support
The support we provide is very individual and depends on the support the person wants and their needs.

Examples of support we can provide
Writing covering letters and CVs
Applying for jobs
Developing interview skills
Improving confidence
In-house training
Referral to external training
Job matching
Supported interviews
Support once the person has a job/volunteering role
Continued monitoring and support

Make a referral to REAL Employment

You can refer yourself or family member or professional can also refer you on your behalf. One of our advisors will then invite you to a welcome meeting and complete an assessment to check if you are right for our service. You don't have to have a diagnosed learning disability, we take a holistic approach when assessing people.

Please contact the relevant branch by visiting the contact us section at the bottom of the page.

After your referral

We want to check that the REAL Employment service is right for you. The first meeting will gather some information about your past experiences, strengths and the things you struggle with. You don't have to answer any question you are not happy to. It is informal and you can have a break at any time. If for any reason REAL Employment isn't right for you, we will suggest other services that might be.

In house training

We have a range of in house training available. This training is for customers of REAL only and is booked through your advisor.

Get in touch

Huddersfield office
41 Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2HL
01484 221581 (Option 1 Huddersfield)
RealEmployment@kirklees.gov.uk

Dewsbury office
Dewsbury Customer Service Centre, Walsh Building, Town Hall Way, Dewsbury, WF12 8EE
01484 221581 (Option 2 Dewsbury)
RealEmployment@kirklees.gov.uk

About US

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity making recovery reality for thousands of people every year. We provide a wide range of services including residential
support, supported housing, employment services, community support and crisis support.

Richmond Fellowship is now part of Recovery Focus, a group of charities with the shared aim
to inspire individual recovery nationwide.

How we can help

Our employment service can help support you in finding meaningful paid employment,
volunteering opportunities, education or training.

We work with people living with mental health problems or those on the autistic spectrum to
achieve your goals.

We’re here to encourage you to develop a sense of independence, purpose and fulfilment
and to help you develop the skills you need to manage your mental health problems and return to work or training.

Who we can help

Our service is available to anyone over the age of 18 who lives in the Kirklees area who has
been diagnosed with a mental health problem, autistic spectrum condition and/or with other
hidden impairments, e.g. ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, or early onset dementia.

We cover the whole of Kirklees from our offices in Huddersfield and Dewsbury. You can contact us directly or we accept referrals from community psychiatric nurses,
psychologists, consultant psychiatrists, occupational therapists, Job Centre Plus and
other partner agencies. Please contact us for more information on our referral process.

The support we offer

We can support you on a one-to-one basis, providing confidential, impartial advice and
guidance to help you to move forward. Once you’re referred to our service you’ll be
allocated a specialist employment advisor who will work with you to set positive and achievable goals with regular follow up meetings.

Other practical support includes help with job applications, CV preparation and interview
practice as well as workshops on confidence, self-esteem, wellbeing, art and basic IT.
In addition to Employment Advisors, our workshops are delivered by volunteer Peer
Mentors; people who have lived experience of mental health problems, who can support
you on your recovery journey.

What we achieve

96% of the people we support said we’d helped to improve the quality of their life.
78% of people using our employment services moved into employment, training or further
education or successfully retained their job.

At the heart of everything we do lies:

Hope: the belief that recovery is possible for every individual
Respect: valuing differences and all contributions
Enabling: giving people encouragement and support to achieve their goals
Inclusion: the belief that everyone has a right to participate fully in society

Richmond fellowship have produced a useful information leaflet (opens PDF in new window)

To find out more about the support we can
provide and our referral process, contact us on:
Telephone: 01484 434866

Email: Info.KirkleesES@richmondfellowship.org.uk

Address: 21 Old Leeds Road,
Huddersfield, HD1 1SG

Richmond Fellowship website (opens new window)

About us

The Supported Internship course, is a one-year course for students with an EHCP who have completed their college courses but are not quite ready for that step into paid employment. The students spend one day in college working on employability skills and preparing for independence, and two days out on work placement. Whilst on work placement students receive support from our Job coaches and Work placement officer.

Who is it for

Students with an EHCP preparing to leave college in to employment. Students ages vary but are usually between 19-23.

We cater for students with any disability who are going to be able to move into paid employment. We ask students to be travel trained or prepare to be travel trained whilst on the course.

How to access

We invite parents, students, tutors, careers advisors to email or call to have a discussion around the student and whether the course is suitable. Students would then apply through the college application process.

What is supported employment?

Useful links

Project Search

REAL Employment

Richmond Fellowship

CK Careers