Young adults with special educational needs are being offered the chance to work at either a luxury Chesham hotel or Stoke Mandeville Hospital as part of a supported employment scheme.

In 2018 Stony Dean School in Amersham launched the scheme which provided former pupils with supported internships at the De Vere Latimer Estate Hotel.

Now the scheme has been handed over to Buckinghamshire Adult Learning – and recruitment has started for another five interns at the hotel and 10 interns for another programme at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury from September 2019.

The programme is open to all young people with SEND aged 18 to 24.

The interns will complete a BTEC Level 1 works kills programme, study Maths and English, receive ongoing SEND support and will complete work experience.

The programme will be supported by on-site tutors and a full-time job coach during the year.

Director of human resources at De Vere Latimer Estate, Catriona Vernel, said: “The transformation of the interns has been incredible to watch.

“As we come to the latter end of the programme, the interns have firmly found their feet in the work place.

“Each has been allocated to a department in the hotel and they all wear the De Vere uniform having achieved the right to move from trainees to fully fledged team members.”

Head of recruitment and voluntary services at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, David Howe, added: “We are committed to attracting new talent from our local community. The Trust is one of the largest employers in the county and we pride ourselves on offering great career choices to motivated individuals who want to work for their local NHS healthcare provider.

“We are really looking forward to our partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council and Stony Dean School to trial a supported internship scheme.

“Our aim is to provide the students with experience of employment and widen their awareness of the many career opportunities within the NHS.”