Young people with learning difficulties will be helped to get the skills and confidence to enter the workplace thanks to a £363,584 award to Motherwell College. 

Project Search Lanarkshire will improve the chances of young people with learning difficulties finding work. This three year project will benefit young people across North and South Lanarkshire.

The youngsters will apply and be interviewed for places on an intensive, full-time course to include a mix of classroom tuition and work placements. A personal development and support plan will be tailored to individual needs before starting the programme.  Their interests and abilities will be matched to work placements offered by employers at the host sites, Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride. The young people will have three twelve-week work placements and will be immersed in the world of work at their host employer, whilst also receiving classroom tuition and individual support on a range of employment, social and personal topics.

Project Search is a pre-employment/work programme developed by Cincinnati Children’s’ Hospital 13 years ago. It’s run across 120 sites in the United States and 11 sites in England. Project Search Lanarkshire is the only Project Search scheme in Scotland and is now in its third year at Wishaw General Hospital.

TJ Thornton, 20, from Blantyre credits Project Search with giving him a whole new outlook on life.  He said, “Project Search got me a post in the medical records department at Hairmyres Hospital.  I’ve been here for two months now and I absolutely love the detail and structure here as it makes me feel valued.  Being involved with Project Search has boosted my confidence, taught me lots of new skills, helped me make new friends and opened up whole new career prospects for me.  It’s made me believe that anything is possible if you just open your eyes and think positive.”

The project is one of five receiving a total of £1,664,053 million.  For details of the other awards made today visit http://news.biglotteryfund.org.uk/newsroom-sco