Supported Internships

Supported Internships are work-based programmes for young adults aged 18-25 who have an EHCP. Our SIs aim to empower the young people to confidently and positively enter the world of work – and consequently, equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge & self-advocacy tools to step into independence.  

Our trained Job Coaches work alongside students at our employer hosts, where our interns will work as part of a small team with dedicated work-based buddies for 3 or 4 days a week. The remaining 1 or 2 days of the week are spent at our college site in Headingley working on a varied and engaging curriculum. 

Welcome

We’re Karen and Eva and together we lead the supported internship programme here at Lighthouse Futures Trust. We’re really pleased that your considering joining us and getting into work through a supported internship. 

This page, and the ones you can visit from it, will tell you everything you need to know, from whether a supported internship is for you to the application process. And if you have any other questions, please come and meet us at one of our open events!

Meet the rest of our team

Meet the interns

Wondering if a supported internship is for you? Read what our interns think about the programme and how it has helped them. Click on the images below to find out what they’ve been doing and where they have been working.

Watch also these videos from Employability & Skills  Leeds and Leeds City Council Leeds which explain more about internships. 

Read our Admissions Procedure to find out how to apply for a supported internship with us. Click the button below.

Find out how to apply
content & curriculum on a purple background

Students access an engaging curriculum whilst at college and in the workplace, delivered by expert Job Coaches and Tutors. Our approach is to use “expeditonary-led” learning which encourages interns to take greater responsiblity for their own learning. Many have found themselves alienated and uninspired in previous learning settings and have found traditional models not to be effective for their way of learning. This is why we believe in a ‘hands on’ & person-centred learning experience. 

Our Supported Internship curriculum is based in the following core areas below. Click on the images below to read more. 

Programme Structure

  • Our Supported Internship is a 1 year programme and follows the Leeds City Council academic year. The year is split into 3 terms, Autumn, Spring, and Summer with holidays every 6 – 8 weeks.
  • The internship begins in September. Students spend their first weeks completing their induction with us at our college base in Headingley, as well as participating in our placement ‘Inspiration Days’.
  • ‘Inspiration days’ allow students to experience a variety of our placement options by visiting employer sites, as well as participating in role-taster tasks. This allows students to determine which specific placement is right for them.
  • Once students have completed their college-based induction & have attended at least 3 Inspiration Days, they will then receive an official offer of an internship with one of our host employers.
  • Students then begin their internship placement in mid to late October. Our Job Coaches support students at every step – both in their work-placement and college-based work.
  • The internship ends in July with a graduation on completion. Our aim is for students to be moving into paid employment upon completion of the programme (with additional support in this transition if required).

Our Job Coaches

Our supported interns are joined on-site at their work placement by a team of dedicated job coaches. Trained to help our young people to grow and flourish in their roles, the job coaches are assigned to groups of interns so there is always a familiar face at work, someone they can turn to as often, or as little, as they need to. 

Job coaches also accompany their interns into college and support them in looking for and applying for paid employment. They support our interns to get where they want to be, giving guidance on how to be in and thrive in the workplace. 

Meet our employers

We’re proud to offer a wide variety of internship placements spanning a range of sectors, including; ‘Catering& Hospitality’, ‘Finance & Administration’, ‘Gardening & Horticulture’, ‘Sales & Operations’ plus many more. 

We’re fortunate to work with an incredible range of supportive and game-changing internship hosts with diversity and inclusion at the heart of their organisations. Our internship hosts include John Lewis & Partners, Crag House Farm, NHS Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Citu, NHS SBS, HMRC, Arla Foods, Sodexo, Mitie, RasRoots Best Childcare, Subsea, KPMG, Leeds City Council Housing Department, Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and Johnson & Johnson. 

Interns are based at these employer sites either 3 or 4 days a week, gaining skills in real-life work placements.

We also offer a bespoke internship programme called Branching Out which focuses on gardening, landscaping & horticulture skills – rather than being based with an employer or in an office, you would be based at a variety of locations for 3 days a week.

At the beginning of a supported internship, interns are given the opportunity to test out different placements through our ‘Inspiration Days’ to find the one that’sright for them. 

Watch the film and visit the pages below to read more about some of our employers, or visit the main Employer pages here. 

Testimonials

“My Supported Internship with Lighthouse Futures Trust is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve left with great friends, I finally passed my maths qualification, and I’m in a job I love.”

“I have graduated Lighthouse Futures Trust with a job, and I’ve made my best friends here too.”

“My Supported Internship with Lighthouse Futures Trust has changed my life. I’ve gone on to do things I never thought I’d be able to. I now work for the NHS doing a job I’m really proud of, with a team who understand me.”

Joe, Supported Intern Alumni

Megan, Supported Intern Alumni

Josh, Supported Intern Alumni

Supported internship or apprenticeship?

For young people with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) it often isn’t the case of choosing whether to do a supported internship or an apprenticeship, but rather doing both. A supported internship will give you the extra help and guidance you need to work towards getting an apprenticeship.

For this reason, you’ll always find us at the annual Leeds Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair at First Direct Arena. If you’re thinking about going on to apply for an apprenticeship, speak to us about how we can help. 

Apply now!

Reverse Job Fair  

All our supported interns are offered the chance to attend a Reverse Job Fair. These sessions work similarly to a careers fair with the one difference being that our interns are behind the desk and recruiters come to speak to them. 

Employers always comment on how confident our interns are and the events are always a fun and happy experience and we often find that supported interns pick up real connections to pursue for paid employment.

Graduation: Class of 2025