Natalie Duo
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Hannah, Poppy and Joe – three incredible young people who have recently completed a Mencap Training Academy supported internship and
work experience
Work experience is when you try out a job to help you learn new skills.
at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Birmingham. I spoke with them about their successful journeys into paid
employment
Employment means having a job.
and how MAC has helped them to start their careers.
Let's start with a bit about you. Can you please tell us who you are and what your hobbies and interests are?
Hannah: My name is Hannah, and my hobbies are football and a bit of rugby – I love to watch England. I used to do a bit of horse riding a while ago, but I don’t do that so much now because of work. I also love dogs, and have two, they’re sleeping next to me now!
Joe: I'm Joe Bowden. I love to play video games – games on Steam and on handheld consoles especially, but just games in general as well. I also love cats. I have two called Robin and Marion. Marion is older but Robin is bigger!
Poppy: My name’s Poppy and I like boxing. I also like baking, cooking and I've got two Romanian dogs. We’ve all got lots of pets here!
Could you please tell us a bit about your job and your role at The Midlands Arts Centre?
Joe: I'm a casual contract performing arts technician now and I was offered the contract before the end of my supported internship. So, I've been doing the role for a good two years now, which is a lot longer than I realise sometimes. I've also had a role at the Hippodrome since November. I've worked on a multitude of events, some of which have been pretty challenging in some ways, but it's mostly been good and the events have always been memorable! I find working with technology is easier for me because it just makes sense in my head. I can see where different bits connects so I can quickly make sense of it all.
Joe enjoying a break on one of his technician shifts at MAC. Joe now does some weekend shifts and his skills coach, Susie recently marvelled at his overseeing an entire show in MAC’s outdoor theatre one Saturday all by himself!
Hannah: I used to be on the supported internship with Mencap, doing work
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
at MAC. But then Debbie who’s the CEO, gave me a contract just before the end of my supported internship last year for a paid job at MAC. I've been working in the KILN café at MAC for two years now, doing 6 hour shifts, sometimes working in different areas of the café. I’m also now doing an apprenticeship in
customer
A customer is a person who buys something or uses a service.
service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
with an
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
called Creative Alliance!
Poppy: I have recently started in a paid job as a customer services assistant. I’m working in the KILN café with Hannah. I've been doing work experience at MAC this year, since last September and what I like about it is that there's so many people that you can work with and, as Hannah said, you can go and work in the KILN, but also lots of different areas around MAC. Before getting the paid job in the café, I’ve worked across the customer service team at the MAC – in the cinema, the theatre, and in the gallery, as well as supporting with events.
What are your colleagues like and how do they support you at work?
Poppy: They have been so helpful. When I started, I wasn’t sure about what I was doing so I was able to go along with them and see what they were doing. I soon got used to what I was doing after that. It’s a really nice place to work and lots of my colleagues are my friends. The customer service
manager
A manager is a boss at work. They tell you what you need to do and give you support if you need it.
has been really kind and supportive.
Poppy posing proudly with a coffee she has made for a customer at the KILN café. Poppy has benefited from the support of the customer service manager at MAC this year. We’re pleased to say they’ve agreed to take more learners on placement next year!
Joe: It’s a good working environment at MAC. It can be a bit hectic sometimes and we can get a bit wrapped up with what we’re doing. But the team are very nice and I think I fit in well with them. Some of them like video games too so we talk about that sometimes.
Hannah: My colleagues are really helpful. For example, I struggle to stand for long periods of time, so with certain Certain means you are sure about something. tasks like polishing things, my colleagues bring the equipment to a table so I can sit and do the polishing instead of having to stand up and do it. They’ve also helped me to reduce my hours from 8 to 6 hours a day, so I don’t get too tired. We have an hour lunch break and two 15-minute breaks during the morning and afternoon, so there’s time to talk to people as well. Sometimes, like on weekends when it’s really busy, we have a very big team, so there’s lots of people to talk to.
The CEO at MAC, Debbie is also really supportive. She often visits the KILN to see how we’re getting on and always shows an interest in how the Mencap learners are doing.
Poppy and Hannah, I understand that you have both been working together. What's that been like for both of you?
Hannah: Poppy would get a little confused when she first started at the KILN, so I gave her some tips like helping her to understand where different tables are in the café. I helped her with working with the food and drink screens behind the counter as well. I also showed her how to sort all the cutlery and different cups. What to what to do at the start. I liked teaching Poppy and she was a very quick learner! Once I’d shown her how to do things, she would go and do it herself straight away!
Poppy: It was so helpful having Hannah there with me because she’d been in the same position as me. I knew could always ask her for help and she could tell me how to do things when I wasn’t sure.
Hannah showing Poppy how to use the screens behind the counter at MAC's KILN café. Hannah and Poppy have both benefitted from working together this year.
Hannah: And teaching Poppy the different tasks has made me better at them as well. Sometimes when she asked me something I wasn’t sure and I had to think about what I had to do and now I remember those things better as well.
Poppy: And it's going to be the same again in September, with another Mencap learner joining the team. So, I will be taking that new learner around and showing her how to be a customer assistant, which will be really nice!
How would you like to develop your careers from here? Where do you see yourselves in five years’ time?
Poppy: Probably working here to be fair! Some of my friends have started jobs and then gotten another job on top of it, so maybe I could do that in the future. It just depends on what fits for you.
Joe: I'd like to be working full-time, either as a technician at one of the venues where I currently work, or by having some other contracts at some other venues as well. That might be nice as it would give me lots of options for where I go with my career.
Hannah: I would like to stay on at MAC. But maybe I could work in some different parts of MAC as well as the KILN, like the welcome desk, giving information to visitors. This is a beautiful place for me – I knew I wanted to work here when I first attended an employer matching day here before the supported internship started, and now I don’t want to leave it. If I did ever have to leave, I know I’d like to do something similar in hospitality. I was inspired to work in hospitality by my brother who works in catering.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing a Mencap Training Academy supported internship and work experience at MAC?
Poppy: I'd say if they want to be able to work with different people and work in different kinds of roles then MAC is a great place for them! There’s lots of different areas you can work in at MAC and you can move between them if you like so it’s really good for people who maybe want to try different things.
Hannah: I agree with Poppy. You can develop here and try new things, so future Mencap learners can work out along the way what they want to do. You can also come to one of the open days before the programme starts to get a sense of what it’s like and what you could do here before you start.
Joe: I would say it’s a great way to get your foot in the door and onto the jobs ladder. The supported internship will give you the chance to get familiar with the venue so you can build your confidence.
Natalie Duo is a co-trainer at Mencap, delivering learning disability A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things. awareness training to employers. She is a graduate of one of our supported internship programmes, during which time she completed work experience with The Financial Financial means anything that is to do with money. It is used to describe how people, businesses, or governments get money and how they use it Times. Natalie loves writing and regularly contributes articles featuring interviews with our employer partners and learners.