A job can mean much more than a source of income. For young adults with learning difficulties, it can also be an opportunity to develop valuable life skills, boost self-confidence and take an important step.
DFN Project SEARCH is a transition-to-work programme for students with learning disabilities and autism spectrum conditions. It supports those who wish to enter paid employment by providing meaningful on-the-job experience and the opportunity to learn key skills.
Currently, less than 5% of people in the UK and Ireland with a learning disability or autism secure employment in a paid role. However, over 70% of DFN graduates achieve paid employment after a supported internship year.
Sodexo is proud to be one of the employers that facilitate these internships. There are currently nine Sodexo sites enrolled on the programme, with a further ten planning to launch internships in September 2024.
More than 100 young people will have completed a DFN Project SEARCH internship at Sodexo in the 2023-2024 academic year. Based on the success rate of the programme, approximately 70 young people with learning difficulties will have secured paid employment.
Sodexo’s partnership with DFN goes back many years. Its Health & Care business has been working with DFN since 2018 and has to date partnered with local colleges to offer over 200 work placements for people with varying disabilities at several of its contracts, including private healthcare providers and large NHS Trusts, in roles in catering, hospital portering or administration.
The students receive a useful mix of classroom training and hands-on workplace experience, and each individual is allocated a Sodexo work mentor to support them and help them make the most of each working day. Around 50 have subsequently joined Sodexo permanently while others have gone on to secure employment with other firms in their area.
After hearing about DFN from a colleague Tom Martin, Sodexo’s contract manager for Student Living by Sodexo at Northumbria University, discovered his client had already had some conversations with DFN. Subsequently, a collaborative partnership between Newcastle City Learning, run by Newcastle City Council, Northumbria University, Sodexo and DFN was set up. The programme has just seen the second cohort of students graduate. In total, Sodexo has supported six students who during their placement worked in three areas.
Students working with Sodexo’s front of house team were able to shadow its customer service assistants as they undertook tasks such as flat inspections, parcel management, administration processes and customer service. The placements also included work with the cleaning and maintenance teams.
Su Hirst, accommodation and soft services manager at Sodexo says: “As one of the leads for the DFN project at Northumbria I have found it has been an absolute privilege to be involved and watch these young people grow in the environment we work in. Having been involved over the past two years, the programme and its students go from strength to strength and have created opportunities for the students but also a real sense of warmth and achievement to my wider colleagues for making the difference and going the extra mile.”
Sodexo is also working with DFN Project SEARCH to introduce the initiative at its Salford office. This will see students complete their placements within Sodexo’s HR, Learning & Development, facilities management and control room teams. To help the students familiarise themselves with the office beforehand, a skills assessment day was held which also included a relaxed interview, so the interns had first-hand experience of the job application process.
Richard Sharpe, a Sodexo’s DFN champion and operations manager on one of Sodexo’s large corporate clients, shares his experience of supported internships: “Having been involved in supported internship programmes since 2018, I can say with certainty that it’s the most enjoyable and rewarding initiative I’ve been involved in during my career to-date.
“The FM world can be challenging when it comes to staff turnover, and we have this untapped resource of young people who have the capabilities and commitment for a successful career within Sodexo.
“The traditional psychometric testing interview process isn’t designed for these individuals to succeed when applying for a job, however a supported internship gives them the opportunity to flourish and showcase what they can bring to our organisation.
“Our partnership with DFN is making a difference in the communities that we serve, we have offered paid employment to eight young people following their supported internship year at the contract I work within, and recently also offered a hospitality apprenticeship to an individual at our site in Blackpool.
Sian Foster, head of operations at DFN adds: “We have been proudly working with Sodexo colleagues on a number of supported internship programmes across the UK. These programmes will undoubtedly change the lives of, and opportunities for, neurodiverse young people.
“With the support of the DFN Project SEARCH team, Sodexo has embraced the process of providing supported internships, and have been a driving force around creating sustainable change and showcasing inclusion in practice.”
Sodexo has been an accredited Disability Confident Leader since 2018 and works with many external partners to support disabled people into meaningful employment.
About DFN Project SEARCH
DFN Project SEARCH is a one-year transition to work programme for young adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both.
Everyone deserves the right to aspire to the very best future, yet only 4.8% of people in England (and 4.1% of people in Scotland) with a learning disability who are known to local authorities go on to secure paid employment, compared to 80% of their peers.
We don’t think this is right and neither do the people we support and work alongside.
At DFN Project SEARCH we work hard to challenge and change cultures, demonstrating how young people with a learning disability can enrich the workforce, bring incredible skills and talent, encourage greater diversity and meet a real business need.
We partner with organisations across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create supported employment internships for young people in their last year of education, helping them to take positive first steps into the world of work.
Our unique programmes around the UK have been established with various prestigious employers including hospitals, local authorities, universities, and a number of private sector businesses.
At the end of the programme, on average 60% of DFN Project SEARCH graduates move into full-time permanent roles and 70% of DFN Project SEARCH graduates gain jobs in total.
We believe in empowering all young people to enter the workplace with confidence.
More Information.
Get in Touch.
About Sodexo
UK and Ireland
In the UK and Ireland Sodexo employs around 30,000 people, and partners with clients in many sectors across business and industry; schools and universities; sports and leisure; energy and resources; government and agencies; healthcare; justice and defence.
Sodexo’s connected; people-centric approach brings together a diverse range of expertise. The breadth of services it offers ranges from food and hospitality; cleaning; reception; concierge (Circles); security; property management and technical services through to data driven workplace strategy and design (Wx) and employee engagement and recognition services (Pluxee).
Vital Spaces is Sodexo’s value proposition that puts people at the heart of everything we do, bringing together services and solutions and focusing on the productivity and wellbeing of people wherever they are.
Worldwide
Founded in Marseille in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is the global leader in sustainable food and valued experiences at every moment in life: learn, work, heal and play. The Group stands out for its independence, its founding family shareholding and its responsible business model.
Thanks to its two activities of Food and Facilities Management Services, Sodexo meets all the challenges of everyday life with a dual goal: to improve the quality of life of our employees and those we serve, and contribute to the economic, social and environmental progress in the communities where we operate. For Sodexo, growth and social commitment go hand in hand.
Our purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all.
Sodexo is included in the CAC Next 20, Bloomberg France 40, CAC 40 ESG, CAC SBT 1.5, FTSE 4 Good and DJSI indices.
Sodexo key figures
- 6 billion euros Fiscal 2023 consolidated revenues
- 430,000 employees (as at August 31, 2023)
- #1 France-based private employer worldwide
- 45 countries
- 80 million consumers served daily
- 6 billion euros in market capitalisation (as at July 1, 2024)
More Information.
Get in Touch.
A short lesson in resilience from Sam Roff, Service Manager, TWO Services
