Job Coach
Every staff member is committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our interns; throughout their supported journey, they will receive guidance and support from our in-house Job Coach. The support is bespoke and can include 1:1 sessions to establish career goals, guidance with job applications, CV writing, optimizing LinkedIn, Access to Work applications, and help to identify Reasonable Adjustments.
Interns can book in 1:1 job coach meetings at any time throughout the supported internship and work closely with them to find meaningful employment opportunities.
When interns are participating in work experience over at SENDCode agency, our in-house Job Coach will also help them to navigate the workplace.
Careers Advice
As we have a team of industry professionals working within DISC, there is always an expert close by to offer advice and guidance. Not only this, we are committed to exposing our interns to as many different industry professionals from a wide range of companies as possible, to share their stories and routes into careers.
SEND Aware Employers
We work with a growing number of SEND aware employers who are eager to work with talented young people at DISC to provide external experiences, work trials and jobs. For the past two years 90% of our supported interns have progressed to positive destinations in work or HE.
Interview Preparation
On the supported internship, we offer comprehensive interview preparation to develop confidence and provide insight for our interns. We also run a mock interview day, where a mentor or industry expert conducts a professional standard interview and provides detailed feedback. Interns won’t be alone in the mock interview, as they will be accompanied by our in-house Job Coach if they wish.
Ever heard of the STAR Technique? That’s Situation, Task, Action, Result. We explore this method in more depth, by drawing on experience from the interns’ CV and applying it to real life scenarios.
Mentoring Programme
We have a number of individuals and organisations that volunteer to mentor our young people on their journey to employment. This is a vital and valuable support service that can really make a difference to the young people we work with.
If you’d like to get involved please drop a line to kirsty.bl@disc.ac.uk and she can let you have more information, discuss the process of onboarding and arrange a real or virtual visit to DISC.
Gatsby Benchmarks
Gatsby benchmarks for Career Advice and Guidance are delivered at all stages of the curriculum at DISC.
1
A stable careers programme
All of our courses are tailored employability courses which offer individualised support to develop a young person’s career opportunities. The courses are built around work-related experiences which interns spend the majority of their timetable doing.
2
Learning from career and labour market information
DISC Curriculum is designed with industry professionals and reflects current and future careers and labour market information. Interns have regular career talks with industry professionals. Supported Interns have a Careers Guidance meeting once every two weeks with an experienced Job Coach to develop a personalised career plan moving through the academic year. Interns are encouraged to research labour market information and attend workshops and events independently in order to take an active role in their career development.
3
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Our courses offer personalised support to all interns. SMART targets differ depending on the intern's focus for employment and Preparing for Adulthood needs. Support needs are considered at each stage of the internship and support will differ according to the individual needs of the intern. Interns’ skills within the digital sector range significantly, however their course caters to these individual skills and encourages interns to apply these in work settings.
4
Linking curriculum learning to careers
Our curriculums are entirely designed around careers, employability and work skills. Interns are regularly supported to relate learning to work experience and future career goals. All skills development serves to improve communication and other work skills to ensure positive paid outcomes.
5
Enctouners with employers and employees
Interns have daily encounters with employees at SENDcode Agency. They work alongside employees as colleagues and mentors. Interns participate in regular external workshops and employer talks. Supported Interns are managed by a Studio Manager.
6
Experiences of workplace
Alongside working in a real office space surrounded by digital employers, all Supported Interns participate in work experience for the majority of their timetable. Throughout the year they experience a real working environment, to build their skills and to reflect on their future work goals.
7
Encounters with further and higher education
A Supported Internship Programme generally supports young people into paid employment and is the last step in their education as a young person. There are however occasional instances where young people change their pathways whilst they are enrolled on the course. If this happens to be the case, the intern will be supported to encounter further FE and potentially HE courses.
8
Personal Guidance
Interns receive regular 1-1 meetings which offer personal advice and guidance. Interns work on their personal development each week and use this time to work on their Preparing for Adulthood SMART targets. Interns are supported by all staff on the internship programme to achieve their goals in paid employment as well as increasing their independence skills.
Local Labour Market
Our provision is guided by the Greater Manchester Skills Improvement Plan and refined through constant industry engagement.
Examples of labour market information for the region:
Provider Access Statement
At DISC, the Digital Independent Specialist College, we adhere to the legislation that mandates all maintained schools and academies to offer at least six encounters with technical education and apprenticeship providers to all our students. These encounters are designed to inform our students about alternative educational pathways and meet specific criteria to ensure they are meaningful and impactful.
You can read the key information here - Provider access legislation