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Mike Ferguson
Supported Internships
2004
All you need to start the Supported Internship course is enthusiasm, motivation, energy and determination. As the course progresses, you will develop your employability, personal and social skills, which will enable you to increase your independence and develop your confidence and self-esteem. All of these new skills will ensure that you are better prepared to enter the workplace as a skilled and effective employee.
Mike Ferguson works as the Supported Internship Lead in the Apprenticeship Team at Lancaster & Morecambe College. He supports and teaches the students on the Supported Internship course, which we offer in partnership with DFN Project Search. A supported internship is a one year transition to work programme which is for young people aged 18-24 with a learning disability or autism, who want to gain work experience and develop their skills to enable them to progress into paid employment.
All you need to start the Supported Internship course is enthusiasm, motivation, energy and determination. As the course progresses, you will develop your employability, personal and social skills, which will enable you to increase your independence and develop your confidence and self-esteem. All of these new skills will ensure that you are better prepared to enter the workplace as a skilled and effective employee.
Mike previously worked as a tutor with the YMCA in the Runcorn area, and joined LMC as a tutor back in 2004 with the Aspire team. He chose to apply for this role at LMC as it provided oppurtunities for him to help people make a positive change to their lives. His new role now within the Apprenticeship team as the Supported Internship Lead is to support young people who have an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) who are keen to gain new skills and work experience. He will co-ordinate the delivery of an innovative transition to work programme, currently the NHS, and support the interns to develop employability skills through a series of work-based rotations and teaching/ learning sessions.
My favourite part of the role is finding creative solutions to solving problems and producing a positive outcome for students.
In Mike's job he works with the partner organisations to deliver the transistion to work program and supports students on their work placements. On the Supported Internship students get to develop and apply their skills everyday, ensuring they are ready to transition seamlessly into the workplace. The Supported Internship work placements are currently available with the NHS at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in lots of different departments across the hospital including:
- Catering
- Portering
- HR
- Maintenance/Facilities
- Healthcare Assistants
- Sterile Services
When asked what he would say to someone who was thinking about applying to the Supported Internship Mike says,
Our Students get to develop and apply their skills and learning every day, ensuring that they are ready to move seamlessly into the workplace as skilled and effective employees. There are no formal qualification requirements to study on this course and no pressure of working towards a formal qualification. If this sounds like it would suit you, then get in touch today!
If you would like to apply for the Supported Intership click the link below.
YOUR TUTOR(S)
The course gives people experiences of business in many forms which can be used in a huge variety of possible future careers – past students have gone on to work in sectors as diverse as fashion, charities, social media, nuclear energy, defence manufacturing and the public sector.
If you are interested in working with animals, this is a great course for you! As not only do you gain the knowledge and practical skills to work with animals, but you also gain the employability skills to be able to work in teams and work within the industry. It's important to remember that jobs in the animal industry are not just about working with animals, you need to have the skills to deal with people too!
I love working with such keen and dedicated staff and students. I also like how every day is different because we attract such a wide range of students including year 11 from local high schools aged 16-18 who apply to the full time courses, to adult students who attend the part time courses. It’s nice to work with so many people from all different backgrounds and cultures who share a passion for cooking.
My favourite part of my role is being able to recall my industry knowledge and then passing it onto my students. The knowledge I have from working in the industry gives the students a better understanding of real life situations and how to transfer their skills into future careers.
Whether you're confident that you want to be a plumber/gas engineer, think you want to try your hand at it, or have no idea what you want to do - plumbing or gas work is an excellent asset for anyone to have. They're both great career options, loved by foreign countries if you're looking to travel, or at the very least will save you some money on a plumber in the future no matter what you end up doing!
It’s really difficult to state just one thing I love about working at Lancaster & Morecambe College because there are so many! I really wanted to work here because the college has a fantastic reputation. I love introducing new ways of working and keeping up with relevant trends to improve the course, and I really enjoy the supportive environment that we create for our students.
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