Internship Programme

 
 

Meet LYRA…

Lyra’s journey is one that is familiar to so many young people. But with the support of The Perfect Place to Grow she has managed to find a way to flourish.

Lyra attended a vocational college in Thanet but found the experience difficult, as she has complex personal barriers that were never really addressed whilst studying. Colleges suit a large percentage of young people, but they are not set up to do much more than teach the curriculum.

Lyra was working in hospitality during her time at college, however she unfortunately got to see the worst side of the industry and was not equipped with the skills to deal with the difficult experiences she had. She describes that time in her own words as, “really, really shit”. This led to a sustained period out of work, a huge loss of confidence and a significant increase in the already prominent personal obstacles she faced.

Lyra was referred to us on a voluntary basis by CXK, a community partner also supporting young people in the Thanet area.

Working in our kitchen over a sustained period, we felt that skills learnt at catering college could potentially lead Lyra to a role in the kitchen. With the additional external support to help with personal barriers, we felt she was close to work again.

Lyra became the first of our trainees to join our internship program. Lyra was paid by us to work 100 hours at an Italian bakery here in Margate. This allows the business to spend time with a young person without having the financial burden it would usually bring.

The idea behind the internship is to offer the young person real experiences at a functioning business outside of The Perfect Place to Grow, which they can put on their CV.

Paying Lyra a living wage also demonstrated to her that she is respected both financially and personally once she started employment. There is never a job guaranteed at the end of the placement, but it does encourage both the business and the trainees to see a future where hiring young people.

Did the internship programme work for Lyra? Yes.

Lyra is employed. She is dealing with the issues that stopped her from finding employment in the past. Her internship experience with us was so far removed from her previous one in hospitality that it led to her seeing work in a positive light again.

What we do know is that the time we spent with Lyra was worth it. She will still need support as she transitions into employment, but she is now far more equipped to cope with the bumps in the road than when we first met her.

She is an incredible young woman at the start of a long and hopefully sustainable journey in employment.

And there’s more…