A Worthing college for young people with special educational needs is asking the town to dig out an old photograph and tell the story of its first job.

The SAND Project, which provides employment-focused education after 16 for young people with additional support needs, launched #GiveItAGo today (Monday 19 October). The campaign runs through the autumn, mainly on the college’s Instagram account.

The idea is simple. You share a photograph of yourself at the age you started your first job, with a short account of what the job involved and what you learned from it. SAND says that could be a Saturday job, a market stall, a first step into a chosen career “or something completely unexpected”, and the stories can cover how you found the job, the skills you had to pick up, funny memories and things that did not go to plan.

The first stories will come from SAND’s own staff, trainees, friends and employers. The message behind all of it, the college says, is that “nobody has a straight-line career”.

“Mine was at my grandparents’ market stall”

Kate Davis, co-founder and chief executive of The SAND Project, starts with her own:

“Your first job doesn’t have to be your dream job: mine was at my grandparents’ market stall. But getting started can teach you things, introduce you to people and build your confidence. That’s why we’re asking individuals to share their first-job stories, because you never know where that first step might take you.”

She says the campaign is the college’s teaching approach turned outwards:

“We encourage our trainees to have a go, try different things and discover what they’re good at. You don’t always need to know exactly where you’re going before you take the first step.”

SAND’s model puts practical learning, enterprise and real-world experience at the centre of education. Its enterprises include Bay Cafe on Thorn Road, which this autumn started hosting evening events as well as its daytime service.

Why it matters to the college

The release points to the Government’s 2026 Young People and Work report, which SAND says found that young people with SEND are around 80% more likely than their peers to be not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Ms Davis puts it bluntly:

“The stakes couldn’t be higher. Young people with additional needs face prejudice which makes finding work harder. This often dents confidence and makes individuals worried about failing. At SAND we encourage, nudge and even nag our trainees to try new things. It’s as much about the right attitude as it is about the right skills.”

GiveItAGo is meant to show those trainees that the people around them did not have it all worked out either. The campaign image pairs four first-job era photographs with two lines: “You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do” and “Start with one shift and take it from there.”

What it means for you

• To take part: post a photograph of yourself at the age of your first job, with a few lines on what the job was and what it taught you, and tag it #GiveItAGo.
• To follow the stories: SAND is sharing the contributions on Instagram at @sandprojectltd through the autumn.
• If you employ people in Worthing: the campaign starts with stories from SAND’s employers, and the college invites work partnerships through its website.