Corey: Working as an apprentice at Lily&Lime

Corey joined the Lily&Lime café as a volunteer before stepping up as an apprentice shortly after the pandemic lockdown ended. Corey has since passed his apprenticeship, becoming the first Supported Apprentice at Minstead Trust to pass the new End Point Assessment.

A few questions with Corey….

What do you do?

I make coffees and use the till to take customer orders. I delegate tasks to the people wesupport in the café and other apprentices. I help to set the café up, and make sure that orders are complete. If I am not making drinks, I will help to prepare these to make the service quicker, for example setting up plates, resetting the coffee handle in the coffeemachine.

Why is it important to you?

My apprenticeship keeps me busy and I think it is a nice environment to be in. Every day is different, so it doesn’t feel like every day is repeating. It has given me a sense of achievement and I know I am doing well.

What do you love most about working?

It is nice to have my own independence and to interact with customers and the other people I work with.

What would you love to achieve?

I would like to finish my apprenticeship and hopefully get offered a contract in the café.

Why do you think it’s important for people with a learning disability to get opportunities to work?

I think it is important because it builds confidence and gets you out of the house and I think people like me deserve a chance to prove themselves. People with a learning disability can do a lot if they are given a chance.

Do you think enough people with a learning disability are in work? If not, why do you think that is?

Not yet, a lot of companies are bit behind in welcoming people with a learning disability and this might be because they don’t know about learning disabilities and would prefer to hire people with experience.

How do you think employers can make it better for people with a learning disability to get access to more work?

Reach out to charities like us to give people a chance and learn from the people who already support us to understand how we work.

Finally, do you think most people understand what a learning disability is?

No.