Herts’ Services for Young People

Looking for Jobs, Apprenticeships, Traineeships or Further Education?

If you are aged from 16 to 19 you can register with the Council’s Services for Young People using the form on their website and they will send you information about job vacancies, apprenticeships and further education opportunities tailored to your interests.

You will also get free access to their CV builder, hints on job searching and details of how they can further support you.

Options for work

Supported internships

Supported internships are for young people aged 16 to 24 with learning difficulties or learning disabilities, who want to get a job and need extra support to do this. To be eligible you need an Education, Health and Care Plan.

Supported internships are unpaid and last for a minimum of six months. Wherever possible, they support you to move into paid employment at the end of the programme.

Mission EmployAble

A new charity that offers young adults with mild learning disabilities a unique opportunity to gain the skills and confidence to find paid work in their communities – and to have fun and make friends of their own age while they are training.

Mission EmployAble run year-long supported internships in conjunction with Bucks College Group, for young adults with an EHC Plan aged from 19 to 25.

Traineeships

A traineeship is a course with work experience that gets you ready for work or an apprenticeship. You won’t be paid, but your employers can sometimes give you expenses for things like travel and meals. Traineeships prepare you for future careers by helping you to become ready for work.

Traineeships last from six weeks to six months, and are tailored to your individual career needs.

Apprenticeships and training

To start or change your career you usually need a combination of experience and qualifications. An apprenticeship is a good way to combine on the job training with studying, usually for one day a week, towards a formal, nationally-recognised qualification at the end of your apprenticeship.

Looking for work

When you’re looking for work, look on adverts and application forms for the ‘disability confident’ symbol. This symbol means:

• the employer is committed to employing disabled people
• you’ll be guaranteed an interview if you meet the basic conditions for the job

Your local Jobcentre can help you find a job or gain new skills and tell you about disability-friendly employers in your area.

Support in your job

Access to work

If you’re disabled or have a physical or mental health condition that makes it hard for you to do your job, you can get extra help from Access to Work, including mental health support.

Reasonable adjustments

Employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs. This applies to all workers, including trainees, apprentices, contract workers and business partners.

Other people to talk to