Barnardo's A Chance to Work Project

Barnardo's A Chance to Work Project was set up in 1989 in the Liverpool area of Merseyside to enable school leavers with severe learning disabilities and high support needs to find employment in a job which meets their requirements.

The project offers a work opportunities programme, lasting up to a year, for 16 school leavers between the ages of 16-21-years-old who live in the Merseyside area. The project is funded by Barnardo’s, Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council via Liverpool Community College and Liverpool Social Services Directorate.

The service offers one-to-one job training support for as long as is necessary throughout the period of training. Each learner will experience a series of different work experiences lasting from as little as two hours to sixteen hours per week, for a period of 12 weeks, depending on the individual needs of the learner. This has been found to be the most effective way of helping young people to find the right job for them by giving them more information on which to base their decision.