A special mock interview exclusively for youths with special needs.
In the early morning of January 20, 19 youths with special needs (hereafter referred to as “interns”) sat outside the meeting room of the Guangdong Huiling, waiting for an interview. Unlike most interviews, this one took place after the internship was over, and it was only for people with special needs.
Before the interview, Ms Lu Weixia, the partner of Guangdong Huiling, gave the interns interview guidelines – dress appropriately, greet the interviewer, introduce yourself and answer the questions confidently. These basic interview etiquettes are rarely taught to these interns in a proactive and detailed way.
Each intern was given an interview evaluation sheet. In addition to work experience, attitude, and the position’s requirements, the evaluation also included demeanour, language skills, and the ability to take care of oneself. To create a more realistic experience, two of our HR colleagues, Serene Chen and Alis Yu, acted as interviewers to provide more professional assessments and advice to the interns.
At the beginning of their career process, interns also need the support of mentors (usually parents of interns or employees of non-profit organisations) who accompany them to familiarise themselves with the workplace and their positions. In addition to the mock interview, the “Life is Art – Career Makes Future” programme also organised training for these mentors to provide professional support.
Let the interns make their own choices.
During the social integration activity, teacher Zhuo from the Huiling Art Regulate led the interns in playing games with the Jebsen volunteers. They held hands and danced to the music, changing partners and introducing themselves as the music changed. When the interns were paired with the Jebsen volunteers, teacher Zhuo said, “In the past, they (the interns) were chosen, but this time, they were encouraged to choose their partners. “
Jebsen volunteers and interns then played games and made sandwiches for lunch together. Jebsen volunteers also presented the interns with graduation certificates to encourage them to integrate into the community. At the end of the activity, the interns performed a street dance and songs to show their talents. A Jebsen volunteer said: “Behind every work they (the interns) do, there is an unimaginable hardship. I hope the community will treat them equally, respect them and understand their situations, so our society will be more inclusive and supportive.”
The road to employment is not easy for these interns.
In 2023, 20 interns passed the interviews of the “Life is Art—Career Makes Future” programme, and 19 of them successfully completed the two-week internship at Emmaus Bakery. During this time, they experienced different types of work, such as preparing ingredients, bakery modelling, packing and delivering, in-store services, cleaning, and sorting.
The work of a bakery may seem simple to most people, but for these interns, it takes longer to understand a single instruction, and they hardly know what to do next. When training them, you have to repeat the instructions over and over again, telling them what to do. As a result, they often need a lot of practice before they can learn a simple task.
Chen Enping, shop manager at Emmaus Bakery, noticed a gradual growth in the interns during their two-week internship, and they were able to be more proactive in completing their work and following instructions. “They don’t necessarily work in the bakery after the training, but the working habits they developed in the programme are universal”. One of last year’s interns, Huang Yuming, was successfully recruited by the company thanks to her experience at Emmaus Bakery. Over the past three years, “Life is Art – Career Makes Future” has provided employment opportunities for eight interns.
Since 2014, Jebsen Group has launched the “Life is Art” programme, which has provided 483 lessons, with 619 Jebsen volunteers accompanying 621 children to participate in the programme. Since 2021, the Group has worked with Emmaus Bakery to launch the “Career Makes Future” courses under the “Life is Art” programme, focusing on vocational skills education for youths with autism, which focuses on the needs of career development and helps them to better integrate into society and realize their self-value by providing real internship scenes.