A fledgling entrepreneur from Camborne with a passion for raising poultry has been supported in his business journey by a specialist internship programme.
Jared Kingston has a small flock of bantam chickens which he rears for laying eggs. He has started an enterprise selling eggs to friends and family, which is growing through word of mouth.
Jared, aged 22, has been supported by Work Your Way – a one year internship programme designed for young adults with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to prepare them for working life.
While the wider group at Work Your Way have been carrying out work experience and learning life skills such as budgeting, planning travel, teamwork and employability, Kingston, who is autistic, prefers to work independently and was keen to develop his own business.
The team at Work Your Way, which is delivered by Cornwall Rural Community Charity, adapted the programme to support him to write a business plan, health and safety training and work one-to-one with a learning support assistant.
He has other business ideas, including one for creating jewellery from nurdles – pieces of microplastic that are washed up on Cornwall’s beaches.
“Work Your Way has made a big difference,” said Kingston. “I’ve been able to build up my confidence and independent skills. My maths is improving.”
Martin Prodger, development lead at Work Your Way, added: “It’s been brilliant to see Jared’s confidence grow through the personalised support we’ve been able to provide him in his community.
“Our goal with Work Your Way is to help the young people on our programme to gain paid employment, formal volunteer work or another meaningful activity. For Jared, that’s been to explore opportunities for self-employment. We’re excited to see how his business ideas progress.”
