DFN Project SEARCH

There are over 1 million young people in the UK with learning disabilities and less than 6% get into paid employment. We at DFN Project SEARCH aim to buck this trend and provide real-life work experience, combined with training in employability and independent-living skills, for young people with learning disabilities and autism. Our programme equips these individuals with the correct tools and experiences to become a success in life. Our interns remain on roll with their school or college, but are based in a host business. Here the interns participate in three department rotations throughout the year, receiving 800 hours of skills acquisition, while growing in confidence and competence. Helping them develop their career paths is a support and learning network that consists of an onsite teacher and a full-time employment specialist, plus the intern’s family who create a joined-up learning environment and employment goal. Together the team deliver the support the intern needs for their successful transition from education to work through continuous feedback as they study an employability curriculum. Using this model, over 60 per cent of those undertaking a DFN Project SEARCH programme graduate into full-time paid employment. The programme now has 67 local partnerships across the UK, with over 1,000 young people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum conditions being given a pathway from education into work. We have also set up programmes both in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland in recent years, and plan to continue expanding, helping more communities to support individuals with special needs. DFN Project SEARCH’s goal over the next decade is to get 20,000 young adults into paid employment, which would be transformative for them, their families and the community.