Our supported internship in central London
Learners on our supported internship in central London complete a minimum of 420 hours
work experience
Work
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
is when you try out a job to help you learn new skills.
over the year. We can offer work experience placements with employers in retail, hospitality, health and
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
and administration.
Employers we work with in central London
Greene King. The UK's biggest pub chain. Hospitality work experience placements available in front of house and back of house roles - waiting on tables, serving at the bar and working in kitchens.
Leading care provider. Work experience placements available at homes in Enfield, Greenwich, Kensington, Redbridge and Westminster.
Delfont Mackintosh. Theatre operator in London's west end. Front of house placements available - selling tickets and merchandise and showing audience members to their seats.
Bella Italia. Italian restaurant chain. Placements available in central London restaurants working front of house and in the kitchens.
BNP Paribas Real Estate. Learners can do administrative and facilities management work experience placements at sites manageed by BNP Paribas Real Estate and their partner, Nuveen. This may involve monitoring and responding to emails, making spreadsheets, preparing newsletters, as well as inspecting sites for health and safety issues and helping with building tours.
Islington
Council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. Administration placements available in various teams.
HelloFresh. Recipe box delivery company. Placements available in HelloFresh's kitchen, preparing food and recipes.
Royal Sun Alliance. Insurance provider. Administrative placements available at RSA's offices in the City of London.
Mitie. Leading facilities management company. Work experience placements available working in the front of house and maintenance teams at sites and properties where Mitie deliver services.
Classroom learning
Learners on our central London supported internship attend sessions at The Richmond Fellowship building on Holloway Road 1.5 days a week between September and July, learning employability skills. They spend the rest of the week in their work experience placements.
Emily's Story
Emily first enrolled on our pre-internship in central London in 2022/23, successfully progressing onto our suppported internship the following year. During her time with us, Emily grew massively in confidence as she developed her skills through our classes and during work experience with Bella Italia where she was offered a paid job at the end of her placement.
How can young people enrol on this programme?
To express an interest in joining our supported internship in central London and to start the enrolment process, please complete our online expression of interest form.
If you or the person you are enquiring on behalf of are eligible for a supported internship, then a member of the team will work to get in touch with you within 14 working days.
Before we can agree to enrol learners, we will need to see a copy of the young person's EHCP and to meet with them to discuss why they want to do a supported internship, as well as their skills, needs and interests.
Our London prospectus
You can find out more about all our programmes in London in our 2025/26 prospectus.
Our classroom where we deliver the classroom learning elements of our supported internship in central London is at the Richmond Fellowship building at 80 Holloway Road in Islington. It is a 0.3 mile (7 minute) walk from Highbury and Islington tube station and a 0.6 mile (14 minute walk) from Caledonian Road tube station. It is also close to bus stops on the 21 and 263 (St Mary Magdalene Church bus stop) and the 43 route (Highbury and Islington Station bus stop).
Learners on the supported internship attend sessions at our classroom 2 days a week. The rest of the week is spent in their work experience placements which could potentially take place nearer to learners' homes if needed.
We understand that some people may not have much experience of travelling on their own and may feel nervous about finding their way to our classrooms and to their work experience placements.
We encourage people to come and visit our premises before enrolling to see what it’s like and to get a sense of the journey from home. We also try to arrange meetings with employers where learners will do work experience before they start on the course so they can experience the journey to the workplace as well.
You may also be able to get some independent travel training support before joining the supported internship from your local council.
For Islington residents, visit https://directory.islington.gov.uk/kb5/islington/directory/advice.page?id=yX6gE8DcQUk
For Harringey residents, visit https://haringey.gov.uk/children-young-people-families/send-local-offer/education/school-travel-assistance/eligibility-application-process
For Camden residents, visit https://cindex.camden.gov.uk/kb5/camden/cd/advice.page?id=Hv_du0BCs-8
For Hackney residents, visit https://www.hackneylocaloffer.co.uk/kb5/hackney/localoffer/service.page?id=oJs8As1_ZGo
For Tower Hamlets residents, visit https://www.localoffertowerhamlets.co.uk/organisations/28016-independent-travel-training-itt-for-students-with-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send
For Lambeth residents, visit https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/send/send-support/young-adults-14-25-years/independent-travel-training
For Southwark residents, visit https://www.southwark.gov.uk/parking-streets-and-transport/travel/independent-travel-training
Mencap can also provide travel training for up to 6 weeks at the start of the supported internship course to help learners learn the routes to their work experience placements.
If you would like to enquire about enrolling on our supported internship in central London, then the best way to start the process is by completing our online expression of interest form.
However, if you would like to get in touch with a member of the team directly, then please contact the programme coordinator in central London, Tito Gbadamosi.
tito.gbadamosi497@mencap.org.uk
07813 723 165
For general enquiries, you can also contact: employment.support@mencap.org.uk