Project SEARCH was established by the charity, DFN Foundation, and aims to enable the young people to undertake work-based learning opportunities to help them to secure meaningful, paid employment.

The programme is a partnership between DFN Project SEARCH, NHS Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire Council, North Lanarkshire Council and New College Lanarkshire, and is run through University Hospital Hairmyres and University Hospital Monklands with the ambition of ensuring that everyone with a learning disability or autism can attain high-quality, integrated employment in their local area. 

Cleland Sneddon, Chief Executive at South Lanarkshire Council said: “Over the past 10 years, DFN Project SEARCH has provided fantastic opportunities for our interns, achieving remarkable results with many participants entering and sustaining paid employment.

“With excellent partnership working between South Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire, ISS Facilities and New College Lanarkshire, this project has created meaningful work experience for young adults with additional support needs in South Lanarkshire.

“Our interns have been submerged into a real working environment, gaining on-the-job skills which have enabled them to follow and achieve their dreams. I am extremely proud to represent this group and I’m sure we’ll see many more successes in the future.”

The programme’s long history in Lanarkshire has given it solid roots in the area and has seen it rack up a host of success stories.

An important part of its achievements has been due to the stability offered by running it in the same locations throughout.

Eddie Docherty, Executive Nurse Director at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “I am delighted that NHS Lanarkshire has been able to support this brilliant project at University Hospital Monklands and University Hospital Hairmyres for the last 10 years and at University Hospital Wishaw for over 12 years.”

Claire Cookson, CEO of DFN Project SEARCH added: “Our programme, which is the biggest transition to work programme in Scotland, has a transformative effect on the interns who take part, with more than 1900 people now employed across the UK and 60% of those interns achieving full-time permanent roles.

“Ultimately, we’re striving to enable an untapped talent pool of young people who can make a huge contribution to the employment market in Scotland.”

Fewer than 5% of young adults with a learning disability and/or an autism in Scotland get into paid work, compared to 80% of young people nationally.

DFN Project SEARCH’s mission is to overturn that imbalance, working in partnership across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create supported employment internships that young people undertake during their last year of education.

Professor Christopher Moore, Principal of New College Lanarkshire, said: “DFN Project Search has transformed the lives, expectations and hopes of all those who have been involved. It’s been our privilege to have seen so many of our students go on to achieve their full potential both in the workplace and in life.”