For many people that attend the lunches at the African Caribbean Care Group in Openshaw, Lauren isn’t just a friendly face, she’s a youthful presence that makes their day!
Lauren is one of our Bridge College students who attends weekly work experience sessions out in the community.
When Lauren expressed an interest in helping others, Lisa Crooks, Careers Coordinator at Bridge College, knew just where to look. Lisa’s main goal is to match students’ aspirations and interests with her ever-expanding network of local businesses interested in welcoming a disabled young person for a few hours a week to help their employability skills.
The African Caribbean Care Group (ACCG) is one of our local partners in Openshaw. They offer information and advice services to their local community, offering a wide range of cultural appropriate services designed to support older adults and individuals with health care needs.
Simone, Service Manager at ACCG says “Work experience is a valuable experience all around. The students gain valuable skills, and for us – we get fresh, younger people coming in to the organisation. It’s a win-win!”
Lauren helps during the social lunches the group runs: she helps set the tables, serves food and chats to the service users.
Want to get a glimpse of what working is like for Lauren? Watch the video below!
Work experience is a valuable resource for our schools.
Disabled young people get fewer opportunities to build employability skills. And through discussions with employers, we also notice a lot of businesses aren’t confident in hiring and working with disabled people.
Together we can change that.
By working together with local businesses, we are fighting the misconceptions people have about being disabled in the workplace.
Simone, Service Manager at ACCG says “Work experience will bring something new to your organisation. Just give it a try!”
