Supported Internships

Supported Internships give 16–24 year olds with special educational needs an incredible opportunity to work in real businesses, with the aim of securing paid employment by the end of the year. Interns on our programmes spend one academic year working in 3 different businesses or departments, including hospitals, local government, leisure centres, restaurants, retail outlets, and more. While on the programme interns are taught about all the different aspects of working life, from the importance of professionalism, how to interview well, to how to understand a pay check.  

Each intern is assigned a job coach, who supports them in their day to day working life, helping with whatever aspect of working life they may need support with. This could be anything from helping break down a task, support to structure their working day, building relationships with colleagues, dealing with customers, or anything else. Our job coaches support interns with anything they may need to excel in the workplace.  

As soon as an intern is job ready, their job coach will help them with anything they need to secure employment. This will include building a strong CV, preparing for interviews, applying for jobs, and going with interns to their interviews if that is what they want. 

At Generate we have been helping to run Supported Internships for nearly 10 years. We know how to create and maintain a successful Supported Internship that produces results. Programmes that partner with us get:  

• Skilled, well-trained job coaches who understand the needs of the interns and get the best results for them  
• Access to Work funding secured by Generate   
• An experienced leadership team regularly on site to offer any support and advice

Employment Manager – Aloysius De Menezes

Aloysius has been working on Supported Internships for 8 years. He was a Job Coach in Newham before overseeing the Supported Internship Programme at Generate and now the whole Employment Programme.

       SI Project Manager                                          SI Project Manager 

Benjamin Morrison-Osborn                                    Jordan Laurencin  

Ben and Jordan both took on Project Manager roles in 2024. Ben joined Generate, having previously been a Social Worker in a Disabled Children Team, and has excellent knowledge of Safeguarding and working with people with additional needs. Jordan was a job coach in Newham for 3 years before becoming a Project Manager, and has seen it all, there isn’t much he doesn’t know about Supported Internships.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about Generate! They’ve been incredible to work with — not only helping me navigate Access to Work funding but also connecting me with amazing job coaches who really understand and support my goals. A huge shoutout to Ben and Aloysius in particular — they’ve been absolute stars throughout the whole process. You can tell Generate really cares about the people they work with, and their reputation in the industry is so well earned. I feel genuinely lucky to have them as a partner. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone seeking a reputable and genuinely impactful organisation.

Christina Hebron – Project Manager – Barking and Dagenham College 

We opened our supported internship last September, and could not have done so without the advice and guidance from Generate staff. They have a wealth of experience of SI’s and Access to Work, and are always on hand to support. They understand the world of SI’s and match with our vision and values which is to provide more choice for those with SEND, create accessible workplace training and prepare young people to transition to paid employment with outstanding support. They really work with us as a provider to improve our offer for young people and we are grateful that they are a part of our Partnership.

Hannah Goldman-Brown – Project Search Tutor and Manager – Astrum Academy