We are encouraging the next generation to choose a career in the healthcare sector by introducing recruitment for 16 and 17-year-olds.
Our Trust now supports young people into jobs through apprenticeships, T level courses, volunteering and work experience placements, across a variety of roles and specialties. Traditionally, roles in mental healthcare have a minimum age of 18.
Jed Wood recently completed a 5-day work placement on Rowan Lea ward at Cross Lane Hospital in Scarborough.
He worked with everyone from healthcare assistants, to occupational therapists to the medical teams, taking part in what he calls a life changing experience.
He said: “I have had almost limitless opportunities to achieve whatever I wished to achieve upon entering this experience.
“Regardless of what my learning objectives were, all the staff on Rowan Lea ward provided me with many opportunities for me to do activities or processes that I wished to complete, giving me extra time to complete anything that I wished to do, see or experience.
“This experience has deepened my appreciation for the challenges and rewards of working in healthcare, especially in mental health. Seeing the compassion, patience, and dedication of the staff at Cross Lane Hospital gave me a firsthand look at the impact that empathetic, skilled care can have on people’s lives.
“I would certainly recommend this placement to almost every other student, regardless of their current desire to work within the healthcare industry, as I believe this placement is priceless and would be a life-changing experience for any student.”
As well as supporting T Level courses, which is a new qualification equivalent to three A Levels, the Trust offers the Steps Towards Employment Programme (STEP) which is open to anyone interested in a career in the NHS. Run by the Trust’s volunteering team, it involves two free half days of training to help people understand the different job roles in the NHS, how to apply for jobs, how to write a good job application and develop interview skills.
Sarah Dexter-Smith, Director of People and Culture, said: “We want to support young people to explore the wide range of jobs that are available in the healthcare sector.
“A large part of this is to nurture talent from a young age and ensure they have access to more opportunities to develop their careers.
“We’re offering lots of ways into work, which covers all areas of our organisation, including clinical, administrative and roles such as finance, IT, people services, project management.”
We will work with local colleges and you can get more information by emailing [email protected].
