Hinckley newsletter: September - November 2014

25 October 2016

Making connections that matter

Becky Easterbrook, Site lead

Taurai Horton, Graduated intern

Introducing National Grid

Regulated energy company

UK

• National Gas and Electricity

transmission networks

• Gas Distribution – 10 million

customers

• Interconnectors, metering and LNG

terminal at Grain

US

• East coast – New York,

Massachusetts, Rhode Island

• End-to-end service

• 3.4 million customers for electricity

• 3.6 million customers for gas

Context: Why change is so

desperately needed - Employment rates

A rich source of hidden and untapped talent

Only 6% of students with learning difficulties and

disabilities (LDD) achieve paid employment

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

LDD

Disabled

Non-disabled

Employment Rates

EmployAbility – Our Mission

4

EmployAbility – Our Mission

To provide Supported Internships

for young people with special

educational needs & disabilities

aged 17 – 25

5

Develop new skills

Build their confidence

Gain paid employment

Big impact – low cost

6

Partner with Special Schools

Provide Supported Internships

Job Coaches funded by

Government

“Employment ready” recruits

How it works – Our model

What do you need to make it happen?

7

A room in which to

base the job coaches

and interns

Management lead at

each site

Job coach uniforms Executive or senior

sponsorNetwork of sponsors

providing placements

(including your

supply chain as

appropriate)

Communications

lead raising profile in

business

Laptops/PC for job

coaches (& interns if

appropriate)“Doers” – for example, graduates

or mentors who will lead activities

such as arranging ‘taster days’

Partnership with HR to agree open interview

process for vacancies etc.Cost - £500/intern

Benefits to the company

Inspiration – seeing young people with personal

challenges break through barriers inspires staff to see

business challenges in a different light

It needs no full time employee(s) managing it –

volunteers lead and support it. Their personal satisfaction

and development grows

It connects us to our local communities

We build positive partnerships within our business and

bring together people from different departments

Job coaches are the hub and make it easy for the

business to adopt

It makes our employees feel ‘confident’ about disability 8

9

My story - Taurai

Horton, Graduated

intern

10

My primary school –

Ridgeway

My secondary school

– Round Oak

11

My internship with

National Grid

12

My first job – Safety &

Environmental

Standards Team

13

My progression

From creating timelines/

action plans…

14

…to producing

business cases

15

Why did I tell you

this?

Big Impact – Low

Cost