CASE STUDY: Sopra Steria

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NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), a unique partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care and Sopra Steria, is working to transform the lives of a cohort of young people in Leeds with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions.

A unique partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care and Sopra Steria, NHS SBS provides shared corporate services for the NHS.

As part of its commitment to be a force for good within its local communities, NHS SBS is working with young people to help them develop valuable skills, gain hands-on experience of the day to day working environment and have the tools necessary to enable them to have rewarding careers paid at the prevailing wage, be productive members of society and achieve.

Up to 95 per cent of people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum conditions in the UK end up unemployed, missing out on the vital benefits of working life. Their physical and mental health suffers, and life expectancy drops by up to 17 years.

It is a hidden talent pool. Over 70 per cent of people with a learning disability want to work but only 6 per cent of those known to local authorities are in work.

NHS SBS has partnered with DFN Project Search – a UK-based transition to work programme dedicated to transforming the lives of young people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions – and has taken on a cohort of interns based in Leeds, for a one-year, part-time, transition to work programme.

The work experience placements are in the IT and Finance & Accounting department. Working three days a week, the interns rotate between a number of roles.

Throughout the programme year, they will work on employability and functional skills. Training room activities are designed around: Team Building, Workplace Safety, Technology, Maintaining Employment, Self-Advocacy, Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, and Preparing for Employment.