Minister meets KARE interns at Naas Hospital

Minister for State Kathleen Lynch and Deputy Naas Mayor Ger Dunne visited a unique project at Naas Hospital.

Project Search is the first of its kind in the country and provides employability skills training and workplace internships for individuals with intellectual disabilities. In partnership with KARE, the programme commenced at Naas Hospital last September and it provides two coordinators who work directly with the interns.

Naas Hospital provides a training room and a variety of internships/placements that teach core skills to the interms related to that business or department. Each intern will complete three internships within the hospital with the suppport of the two coordinators from KARE.

Through both the classroom education and the work placements, the intern develops competitive, marketable and work related skills that they will transfer into the open labour market.

The aim of the project is to ensure that the interns develop skills that would lead to employment and that the employer would recognise skills and value people with disabilities in the workforce.

KARE Chief Executive Officer Christy Lynch commented that the project is “a groundbreaking innovation which has the potential to transform employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Ireland. He added: “This is a win win for all parties involved; people with disabilities, their families and employers.”