By Nina Clutton, Head of Health & Social Care, Early Years & Education Studies, and Digital at North Hertfordshire College
Recent years have really demonstrated just how important the NHS and healthcare services are to our society. The Government’s recently-released Plan for Change outlines the key missions for direction for change to ensure we have an NHS fit for the future; that’s why here at North Hertfordshire College, we’re proud to offer courses for school leavers, apprenticeships, and Access to Higher Education courses which help learners of all ages build the skills and confidence the NHS needs to continue its amazing work.
Our T Level refurbishment project has allowed us to invest in our classrooms and create a mock ward, built to NHS standards, and independent living facility at our Stevenage campus. These immersive classrooms provide learners with a safe space to practise their skills ahead of their placements, helping them get used to the environments and feel more confident when interacting with patients.
This work was possible thanks to the development of working partnerships with the NHS, ensuring we’re making movements towards addressing the Government’s mission. Their input has enabled us to build the immersive spaces to match NHS standards, providing students with a breadth of opportunity to develop their skills and learning.
North Hertfordshire College’s tutors and work experience teams have also developed close partnerships with the local Lister Hospital, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust to support our learners in developing their skills further. These collaborations ensure our students finish their studies with the skills and knowledge they need to start working in their chosen specialism.
As part of their studies, our T Level students enrol on the NHS Care and Health Academy. This project, developed in collaboration with Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and now in its third year of operation, secures a strong talent recruitment pipeline as many of our students go on to start their careers within the Trusts.
The NHS Care Academy allows students to explore multiple clinical and non-clinical roles over 8 weeks. The NHS Trusts provide guest speakers across different specialisms who then share their experience and wisdom with our students to help them make informed choices about their next steps after college. The Academy ends with support for students to apply for roles and prepare for their interviews, with an ultimate intended outcome of our students filling vacant roles within the NHS.
The NHS Care Academy has been a great success and has now been expanded to include a full-day ‘careers exploration’ programme for lower-level students. There’s even talk of extending the programme to be delivered at another Hertfordshire-based college, too!
Learners at North Hertfordshire College also work closely with the teams at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital and the local NHS Trust. Healthcare practitioners join us on campus to deliver masterclasses about their specialisms, and teams from across the Trust provide tailored support for placement opportunities, recruitment pathways, and job application guidance. This has truly helped bridge the gap between education and employment, as it ensure our students are equipped with the skills, experience, and confidence to excel in the healthcare sector.
Another benefit of the close working relationship is the opportunity for students to complete work experience in healthcare settings, supporting our T Level Adult Nursing students in meeting their course requirement of a minimum of 315 hours placement in an NHS setting.
A great example of this is our students’ involvement in the Forget-Me-Not campaign at the Lister Hospital, an intergenerational volunteering project where they provide support to in-patients living with dementia. Following a thorough induction which features extensive training in dementia care, de-escalation procedures, and the importance of personal risk assessments, our students are added to the rota to provide 1:1 support to patients on the wards.
The project initially started as a pilot scheme to trial learners completing on-ward work placements but has since been extended to become a staple in our work experience offer for healthcare students. It’s delivered positive results, too: the immersion in the daily work at the Lister Hospital has resulted in one student applying to be a healthcare assistant, and two further students liaising with the Trust’s Apprenticeship Lead to begin their Clinical Support Worker application and ultimately achieve a nursing degree.
It’s great to see the individual achievements of these students, who form part of a bigger picture of a successful talent pipeline. The collaboration between North Hertfordshire College, formed through the positive action of our teaching teams and work experience teams and the enthusiasm of the local NHS Trusts, has seen increased job satisfaction and staff retention amongst early career professionals in the local area. Students who undergo the structured placements and masterclasses the Trusts have helped create are better prepared for the realities of healthcare roles and are therefore happier in their work and can see the value in what they do.
North Hertfordshire College’s work in developing aspiring healthcare workers already supports the UK government’s mission to ‘build an NHS fit for the future’ – something the Association of Colleges (AOC) has noted requires heavy support from further education institutions like colleges to accomplish. That’s why the AOC is calling on the government to increase the funding allocated to colleges and other FE institutions, to help us continue this work and take it to even higher heights.
To find out more about the AOC’s Mission Accepted campaign, please visit: https://www.aoc.co.uk/news-campaigns-parliament/mission-accepted