Mencap Training Academy south west London supported internship programme

The Mencap Training Academy is part of the Royal Mencap Society and is a provider of supported internship and pre-internship programmes.

These are programmes open to young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), aged 16-24 who want to find a paid job.

On a supported internship, we help learners to do this over the course of an academic year from September to July, through:

• Education provided from our classrooms 2 days a week. Sessions cover a wide range of topics tailored to learners' needs and aspirations, from understanding health and safety in the workplace to creating a CV and preparing for interview.

• A minimum of 420 hours of work experience that can be arranged with a range of employers and in roles that align with the skills, interests and aspirations of young people.

As a national learning disability charity, Mencap has partnerships with a wide range of employers and can broker placements for learners on our south west London programme with employers including: Greene King, Travis Perkins, Sutton Borough Council, Kingston Museum, Delfont Macintosh, The Financial Times, Google, Guinness World Records, Bella Italia, Decathlon and more.

We have a classroom in Kingston from where we deliver the education element of our south west London programme:

Units 3 and 4, Parc House Studios

25-37 Cowleaze Road

Kingston Upon Thames

KT2 6DZ

This is where the classroom element of the programme is held with learners on our programme expected to attend 2 days a week. Work experience takes place at a range of employers and can potentially be arranged in places closer to learners' homes.

For young people who do not yet feel ready to complete the required number of work experience hours, we can also offer places on our pre-internship programme which is also available in south west London. This option is more focused on classroom learning and skills building, with some, more limited employer engagement activities. Learners on this programme attend our classroom setting 4 days a week over an academic year between September and July. The aim is for learners to develop their skills and confidence so that they can progress onto the full supported internship programme in the following academic year.