Edinburgh Project SEARCH (EPS) is an employment programme for young adults with disabilities or long-term health conditions. This gives them real-life work experience to gain the skills to help secure future employment.
Cobi Dickson was one of the young people from the 2024/25 cohort. Cobi Dickson lacked work experience, confidence, and didn’t completely understand workplace expectations. He applied to EPS in the hope of entering the world of work and becoming more independent, as he relied on his parents to help with decision-making. The EPS team tailored their support to assist Cobi in overcoming these obstacles. He completed an internship as a patient porter at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, giving him the supportive environment and tools to develop his current skills and become more employable. He listened well to feedback and adapted his work practices accordingly. This included speeding up the pace of his work, communicating in a more effective way, and developing his professionalism and behaviours. This all contributed to Coby successfully applying for a paid role as a patient porter, only 6 months into the programme.
Cobi was supported by the EPS team through the application and interview process. Feedback from the hiring manager was that he had given the best answer to one of the interview questions that they had ever had. The manager was very impressed, and Cobi was offered a role within the department. EPS staff supported Cobi to plan travel to and from shifts, and Cobi continued to attend EPS once a week to complete the college curriculum allowing him to gain the SQA Employability Award at SCQF Level 4 . The Job Coaches helped Cobi to understand payslips and how to read them, and offered help to Cobi as and when he needed it, for example with their onboarding and PVG application.
Through the structure and support of EPS and hard work and dedication from Cobi, he now works independently in a 22.5 hour per week role and is hoping to secure more hours in the near future. He has gained confidence and independence and hopes to continue to develop in the role.
Learn more about Edinburgh Project SEARCH and how you can become involved
