Mitie, the facilities management company, has been working with St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to help young people with learning difficulties gain vital employment skills.
Mitie’s healthcare cleaning team has been supporting three young people through Project SEARCH, an international training programme aimed at guiding young people who happen to have learning difficulties and/or disabilities into paid employment.
Mitie’s healthcare team works for several leading NHS trusts in England, providing a full range of facilities management and hotel services. This includes hospital cleaning, patient dining and security.
The trainees on the project have been working in a variety of different roles at the hospital trust. Whilst being overseen by experienced supervisors they have completed tasks such as washing up in the café, preparing food for the patients and delivering consumables to the wards.
As part of their training, the young people have also been working towards qualifications such as Health and Safety in the Workplace Level 1, Food Safety Level 1, and training from the British Institute of Cleaning Sciences (BICs). They will now be taking these skills into the workplace and looking for employment opportunities.
Mark Wittich, Mitie’s healthcare director responsible for the contract said: “We’re committed to helping people from a variety of backgrounds enter the world of work. The project has been a great success for both the students and our teams and we wish them luck in their future roles.”
Bethany Madigan, Project SEARCH tutor at St George’s said: “Project SEARCH is a great way of networking between different departments in the hospital. The range of departments we work in means the trainees have an opportunity to learn a variety of skills and meet all sorts of people.”
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For further information, contact:
Anna Selby
T: +44 (0)20 7861 2516 E: aselby@bellpottinger.com
