It's been a bit of a roller coaster journey for Daniel since he started his work placement as a Café Assistant with our friends at Macknade, nearly 2 years ago.

Like all of the hospitality industry, Macknade café has not had an easy time throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, having had to close its doors not once, but twice, since began his placement back in September 2019.

For Daniel, this has meant he's had to wait patiently at home during both lockdowns until he could return to his work placement. Whilst we loved working alongside Daniel during the lockdowns as he established himself as a valued member of bemix's Film, Short Story and Wellbeing groups, we were almost as happy as he was when he was finally able to return to work in March this year.

The race was then on for Daniel to be able to relearn his role - which had to change due to Covid restrictions - and gain the skills needed to achieve paid work before the end of this summer.

With continued support from the fantastic team at Macknade, his dedicated bemix Work Coach and, most importantly, his own determination, enthusiasm and fun-loving energy, Daniel attended an interview for a role as a Cafe Assistant last month and was offered paid work!

Daniel, interview ready at Macknade

We asked Daniel how having paid employment made him feel, he said:

“Getting paid work is amazing because I can get paid for doing a job I love doing, through all the fabulous support I've had through my time at bemix, the amazing support from being a volunteer at Macknade and the amazing support through my family, it's helped boost my confidence, getting my routine back and other skills I've developed over time along with the support I've had, I wanna say a massive thank you for all the support I've had from everyone that's helped and supported me to get to where I am now being a full time worker at Macknade”.

Well done and thank you Daniel, for all your hard work, perseverance and endless jokes over the past 2 years - we're all so proud of you!

At bemix, we support people to work towards and achieve their goals and develop their skills and interests (‘Progress’ is one of bemix ‘Wider Values’), within our Supported Employment programme. Our Supported Internship team is knowledgeable and skilled in carefully job matching interns with placements that meet their aspirations, passions and skills. We work with employers, such as Macknade, to identify and understand, often currently unmet, ‘needs’ within their business. Both intern and employer are fully supported throughout the placement from start to finish, and beyond.

Read ‘Macknade Grows Farm Shop Family with Internships’ to learn more about our partnership. 

For more information about Supported Internships click here.