Supported Internship Provision

Jodie Gosling Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

I will call the Member in charge to move the motion, and I will then call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for a 30-minute debate.

[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered supported internship provision.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner.

Yesterday, we heard some dreadful statistics about the stifling of the ambition of people with additional needs who would choose to work but face too many barriers and limited opportunities. The most striking statistic that I heard yesterday was that only 1% of people with health issues who have claimed limited capability to work benefits actually return to work.

I know people with significant disabilities who have thrived in truly exceptional and inclusive businesses, such as the King’s Award-winning Nuneaton Signs, which is not only one of the biggest manufacturers of road signs in the country but boasts a workforce of whom an incredible 70% are disabled, including those with learning difficulties.

We know that as many as 86% of those with learning difficulties who are not in work would like to be, but workplaces need to make the adjustments that our young people need, and they need to be ready for work. We must break down the barriers, and supported internships are a way to do that, both for those wishing to enter the workforce and for businesses wishing to provide a more inclusive employment offer.

Previously, the Department for Education has recognised the value of supported internships. It provided grants for local authorities and partner organisations to double the number of internships between 2020 and 2025 under the Internships Work consortium.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. She clearly has a heart for her people, including her young people, and I commend her for that. I thank her for getting here on time, too; I am not sure how fast she ran, but well done to her. Does she agree that supported internships provide not simply confidence for our young people, but valuable assistance for businesses, and that more businesses perhaps need to be aware of the potential to recruit skilled permanent staff through a different avenue, offering those staff a different opportunity?

[Jodie Gosling]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and note that only 23% of businesses have applied for adjustments to accommodate disabled people to enter the workforce. These internships are crucial, and they are a really good, supported way into work.

There are four key principles to the supported internship programme. First, the majority of the intern’s time is spent at the employer’s premises in a work placement, allowing a structured introduction to the work environment. Secondly, alongside their time at the employer, the intern follows a personalised study curriculum, including in key skills such as maths and English, which creates a bespoke package to support young people and enable them to progress into paid employment. Thirdly, a job coach is central to the study programme. They support the young person to access training in line with the national occupational standard for supported employment, and provide crucial support for the employer to make necessary adjustments and reflect on their inclusivity practices.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for securing this debate. Several of my constituents with special educational needs are taking part in the supported internship programme at George Eliot hospital in her constituency. I am delighted that they have been able to take up that opportunity to learn important skills and to engage in independent work. I was glad to hear that between 50% and 75% of people who undertake the internships get full employment afterwards. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should continue to support these internships to deliver opportunities for students with special educational needs and disabilities across the west midlands, and will the Minister highlight these excellent programmes, particularly to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions?

[Karl Turner (in the Chair)]

Order. Before Jodie Gosling continues, I remind Members that interventions are meant to be very short; they are not meant to be speeches.

[Jodie Gosling]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, and absolutely—the crucial aspect is enabling people into good, well-paid jobs.

The final principle of supported internships is for young people to gain paid employment that fits not only their passions but their long-term career goals, while providing the flexibility to overcome barriers. Supported internships have demonstrated evidence that, with a compassionate scaffolding, the proportion of young people with an education, health and care plan who enter the workforce, which is currently a woeful 5%, can be vastly improved to 60%, through the delivery of the four key principles that I have just stated.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I recently visited Asda in Spondon in my constituency, where there is a supported internship under way called Project SEARCH. It is delivered with the YMCA and the Direct Education Business Partnership. It is a fantastic scheme, and when I met those young people, it was clear that the initiative had transformed their lives. In some cases, they had struggled to get employment elsewhere. May I encourage my hon. Friend to welcome that initiative?

[Jodie Gosling]

Absolutely. I will come to this later, but we were inspired by a visit to Asda and its supported interns.

The supported internship scheme builds on the applicant’s interests and passions, and it provides them with flexibility to try different types of employment opportunities and build skills in a range of sectors with organisations such as the NHS, Asda, Amazon and Goldman Sachs.

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

There is a lot of talk about Asda, and I pay tribute to the Asda in Tunstall in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, which has an excellent supported internship programme that helps young people to step up into employment. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as outlined in the Green Paper published yesterday, we must ensure that Access to Work is strengthened for adults by raising awareness of the scheme and clearing the backlog?

[Jodie Gosling]

I absolutely agree that we need to remove the backlog and get more people into good, paid employment with the skills that they need to become independent.

Paragraph 59 of the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper clearly demonstrates an ambition to change working practices to support employers to make workplaces accessible and inclusive. The Green Paper discusses the

“‘scarring effects’ from youth employment and inactivity.”

Not only is delayed entry into the workforce costly, but it has a negative impact on the individual, damaging their long-term mental and physical health.

The youth guarantee scheme—a commitment to offer every young person a guaranteed place of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a training scheme within four months of leaving formal education—is also set to bring about monumental change. If we are to achieve such clear ambitions, then work, and support for young people, especially those with SEND, needs to adapt rapidly.

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I have seen how supported internship programmes at City of Wolverhampton college and Adult Education Wolverhampton have made a real difference for 16 to 24-year-olds with EHCPs. However, with one in eight young people not in education, employment or training, does my hon. Friend agree that widening participation for NEETs would be one further way to support more young people into work?

[Jodie Gosling]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that, with success rates moving from 5% to a dramatic 60%, the model could be applied more widely to the 1 million NEETs, or to people re-entering the workforce or retraining.

In January, I had the pleasure of meeting five supported interns at Nuneaton’s branch of Asda, and their job coaches from the brilliant North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire college. The exciting thing about supported internships is that the interns learn by doing: they have a chance to develop new professional and personal skills while working alongside employees in a real employment setting. The combination of meaningful experiences of the world of work and a study programme creates great opportunities for interns to develop marketable skills in preparation for paid work, by providing access to in-work qualifications such as health and hygiene certificates.

We know that paid employment brings young people financial independence, builds their confidence and self-esteem, and provides them with opportunities to gain new friendships and to improve and maintain their health and wellbeing. There are also wider benefits to our community, including broader economic growth and the promotion of diversity and inclusion in all workplaces. The benefits to interns of taking part in these schemes are numerous.

Ethan, one of the students I met at Asda, told me that the internship had helped with his anxiety and with talking to new people, both staff and customers. Adrian, who is also on the scheme, said that he finds it much easier to talk to people and, importantly, feels able to approach people for help, not only when he is on the placement but as part of his everyday life. The structured environment, alongside ongoing support, allows interns to acquire and practise essential organisational skills that they will need to join the workforce.

Leo told me that his timekeeping and attendance had improved since he started at Asda, and that he was happier—an outcome commonly reported by the thousands of students on the scheme, and one shared by their parents, who we know have worked incredibly hard to fight for their children’s EHCPs through a tricky system, just to ensure that their children had access to a suitable education and that their needs were met. Supported internships give parents a vital break from caring to take time for themselves and do the millions of other things that they have to do, while still playing a supportive role and having a say in their children’s future.

In 2013, Social Value Lab found that parents of interns reported increased peace of mind that their child was better prepared for the future, and that their child found it easier to handle change and was more resilient in the workforce. Supported internships were also found to improve family relationships as a whole—happier children and happier parents. The same Social Value Lab report demonstrated that DFN Project SEARCH, a supported internship provider, creates considerable social value of £3.80 for every £1 spent on the scheme.

For me, the most meaningful outcome was that the interns reported having a sense of purpose. That speaks to the broken system that we heard about yesterday, wherein disabled people are written off and those who want to seek employment are locked out of contributing to the world of work. Importantly, Asda as a provider also saw huge benefits in hosting the interns. The staff culture on the shop floor embraced and welcomed the interns, and the scheme made the management re-evaluate the accessibility of its hiring process, which is an insurmountable barrier to most people with disabilities trying to enter employment. How on earth can we get people working if the first step to employment is an insurmountable barrier?

With yesterday’s announcement on pathways to work, and the Government’s aim to get people working, the timing of this debate could not be more pertinent. We all know that young people want to work and want independence, but some require specialist support to transition into employment. Supported interns are the key to achieving this. They have been proven to succeed in getting young people back into employment. Will the Department for Education commit to continuing to invest in supported internship programmes and getting people back to work? Will the Minister give an update on the decision to extend the Internships Work consortium?

The profound success of supported internships is reason enough to extend the criteria to young people without an EHCP, those with mental health conditions and those struggling with persistent absenteeism from school. Will the Minister commit to boosting supported internships further and widening the criteria for interns?

We talk regularly and passionately about the damage done and the inherited SEND crisis, but a key issue is the lack of focus on outcomes and transitions to adulthood. As an early years SEND specialist, I have first-hand experience of the importance of early intervention, but I recognise that we cannot write off those the system has already failed. We need to support young disabled people as they leave school. For too many people with SEND, the support runs out after they graduate the classroom.

We cannot prioritise educational provision without considering the educational and employment outcomes. Is the Department for Education working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that those outcomes are considered when addressing the SEND crisis? After seeing the success of the supported internships during my Asda visit, I will meet more supported interns at our local NHS hospital, to hear their experiences. I invite the Minister to join us—I believe the email is in her inbox.

Finally, it is my honour to host the first parliament of young people with SEND on Monday, as part of National Supported Internship Day, when 70 young people who have taken part in the supported internship project will come to Westminster to discuss what matters to them. I hope it will mark a historic step towards greater inclusion, representation and advocacy for some of the most marginalised voices in our society. All interested colleagues are welcome to attend the parliament to promote inclusive policymaking. I thank the Minister for her time and all those who came to listen and contribute.