Kai Lister has been working at The Royal Oldham Hospital as one of our supported interns, taking part in the Bridging the Gap programme. Hayley Whitehead, Job Coach for Bridging the Gap, talks about Kai’s success story, going from working in placements across the hospital to securing his own part time role.
“When I started supporting Kai at The Royal Oldham Hospital, he came across as quite shy and introverted, however as I got to know Kai, I soon learnt he is a very likeable character with a great work ethic and has a brilliant sense of humour.
“Kai started his work placements within the hospital in the laundry department, although he wasn’t keen on this placement, he put a great deal of effort into his work. Kai quickly grew in confidence and bonded with his colleagues.
“I began to see a change in Kai as we discussed his future goals and worked on making an effort with people and communicating within a group setting or on a 1:1 basis. Kai was starting to answer questions with more than just the acceptable minimum and was really developing his communication skills.
“Kai then started to work at the Cafe Royal in the hospital. He worked more closely with the team in the cafe and started building good working relationships with his colleagues. Kai was becoming more confident, and he expressed how much he was enjoying the work. We continued to work on Kai’s communication skills and showing an interest in the people he met.
“Kai’s next placement was in the portering team, where he spent some shifts buddied up with a guy called Tom who taught Kai what he does within his job role on a daily basis. Kai really enjoyed working with Tom and this seemed to build Kai’s confidence even more.
“Returning to The Royal Oldham Hospital cafe, Kai completed one term there in the hope he would either start working for NHS Professionals, completing bank shifts for the hospital, or get a role elsewhere within the NHS. Kai slotted straight back into the team.
“Whilst at this placement Kai applied for the role of part time Kitchen Assistant within Tameside General Hospital. Kai completed a fantastic interview and was offered the role.
This is what Kai had to say about his time on Bridging the Gap:
“My whole experience in the hospital was a pleasure. All the NHS staff on all the departments have been absolutely wonderful, caring and helpful to me on my journey to become a better worker on placement.
“I’ve learnt many skills throughout the hospital that will and have come in handy for life. I’ve enjoyed working in the cafe with all the heart-warming staff and I always appreciate the fact that I was treated just like a staff member there.”
Thank you for all your hard work Kai and good luck in your new role!
To learn more about our Supported Internship programmes read here.
