In a population whose balance is shifting steadily towards older people, it is essential that the NHS is effectively competing with other large blue-chip organisations from a variety of sectors for the young people whose skills and energy will do so much to determine our future. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to make the NHS an attractive place to work to the future workforce.
Engaging with young people must be a priority for all NHS employers. Local NHS trusts have a role to educate young people and raise awareness amongst them of the wealth of career opportunities that the NHS offers. One of the most effective ways to do this is through work experience. A briefing has been produced for employers which explains why the onus is on each trust to seize the opportunity that work experience programmes provide.
NHS Careers has also produced a toolkit Enabling work experience in the NHS to encourage trusts to provide worthwhile work experience opportunities for students at various stages in their education, from GCSE and ‘A’ level to undergraduates who are studying both clinical and non-clinical courses.
The toolkit:
- challenges some of the common myths often perceived as barriers to providing work experience for young people.
- offers practical tips on how to arrange a work experience placement.
- includes sample programmes ranging from one-week placements to programmes extended over a term or academic year which are being successfully run by trusts across the country in a variety of settings.
- provides template forms which cover the key elements of organising a placement which can be adapted to individual trust’s needs.
An online pack has been developed for schools, colleges and further education to provide information and advice for teachers and careers advisers who are involved in arranging work experience for students. This can be found on the NHS Careers website.