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Frequently Asked Questions

What's a typical day like at Project SEARCH?

8.30am - 9.30am: In the Learning Lab with all the interns

9.30am - 10.00am: Morning Tea

10.00am - 12.00pm: Skill development in an internship department

12.00pm - 12.30pm: Lunch Break

12.30pm - 2.00pm: Skill development in an internship department

2.00pm - 3.00pm: In the Learning Lab with all the interns

What kind of internships do you have?
And what would I learn in an internship?

Interns work in many departments all over the hospital. We have had internships in the Spinal Ward, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Departments, Maintenance, Grounds, Orderlies, Waste, Administration, the Kitchen, Wellfood Cafe and the Cleaning Department. We have different internships available at different times through the year.

A Project SEARCH intern will learn a lot of different tasks in whatever area they are in.

For example if you are in an Administration internship you might learn some or all of these tasks - how to use and refill a photocopier, laminate, bind booklets, fold and compile pamphlets, stamp cost codes, punch holes, file paperwork, clean work stations and kitchenettes, and computer based work like making phone lists or inputting data.

The tasks you learn are some of the same ones as the staff who do these jobs - they are real work skills in a real workplace.

Do people help you in your job?

Yes, we each have a Skills Trainer who is specialised in teaching the tasks interns need to learn. We also have on the job mentors who work beside the interns everyday. These mentors are staff already working in the hospital so they know the jobs really well, and they have usually worked with Project SEARCH interns before. The staff who mentor our interns are amazing and help us all learn the right way to do the real work that keeps the hospital going!

How do the interns get to work?

Part of the requirements for Project SEARCH is that the interns get to Project SEARCH by themselves. The majority of interns take public transport, but you can also bike, walk, scooter or drive if that's what suits you.