Alex started his position as Catering Assistant with Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent at the end of 2021, having completed a diploma in professional cookery. Alex hopes to have a successful career within food preparation and is on his way to achieving this!

He initially started working within the back kitchen, where he was trained by very experienced and friendly colleagues. Alex's role within the catering department was to ensure that all customers had a clean and hygienic experience. 

Managing the industrial dishwashers, keeping the cafeteria clean and clearing trays are only some of the many tasks that Alex undertakes on a daily basis. He now works independently and confidently, and helps to teach other young people his role.

Alex at work in the Tea & Coffee Room

Alex recently joined the team who work in the Tea & Coffee Room, where he  quickly gained an abundance of new skills. During his time in this department, Alex is often found making milkshakes & smoothies, heating up the panini's and creating custom ordered coffee creations, all whilst providing an excellent customer service experience.

Simon, the head of Retail is keen to train Alex in all areas of the catering department. There are plans in place for Alex to work in the main kitchen area alongside the Chef, where he will be serving food to customers and helping the Chef with food preparation.

Alex is greatly appreciated and supported at Medway Maritime Hospital, and is really enjoying his time there. “Seeing Alex grow and develop within my team, learning new skills and pushing himself to take on and learn new duties in the coffee house, serving customers, completing transactions has been so positive, he has gone beyond my greatest hopes and I look forward to what he can achieve.” Simon, Head of Retail

Alex described his role with Medway Maritime Hospital as “An excellent job with friendly staff”.

bemix are proud to work with supportive and inclusive organisations such as Medway Hospital. They are great supporters of the work we do at bemix, and we hope to continue to nurture this relationship.  

The team at Medway Maritime Hospital have also requested disability awareness training from bemix, to further ensure that they are providing the best support and opportunities for our young people on similar work placements. Collaborating with other organisations is part of the work we do, as well as one of our Wider Values, at bemix. Collaboration enables us to continue our work towards achieving Our Vision of living in a world where every person is valued as an individual, where people with learning difficulties and autism are fully and equally involved in all areas of society. Support given to people is most effective when the people and organisations giving it work closely together - we value co-working over competition (take a look at our Core Values).

For more information about how your organisation can get involved in Supported Internships, click here.

Read more Good News Stories about Supported Employment, click here.