Hospitals to broaden school links and promote local employment

Sherwood Forest Hospitals directors are planning to broaden links with schools in order to promote placements and employment with the trust.
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It is part of a long-term recruitment drive which aims to broaden the reach of the hospitals and promote the NHS as a place to work from a young age.

The trust already has links with a number of schools and colleges in the area, including both Brunts and Shirebrook academies, Joseph Whittaker School and West Nottinghamshire College.

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However, the aim is to develop stronger connections to schools, offering work experience and insights into apprentice schemes with the aim of promoting local recruitment in the future.

King's Mill Hospital.King's Mill Hospital.
King's Mill Hospital.

Suzanne Banks, chief nurse, said: “We are hosting a big careers fair next year and will get all the careers sectors involved.

“We want to do more around careers and development, improving on talks in school to promote work experience in our hospitals and the options of nursing apprentice schemes.

“We also have dialogue with the University of Derby about welcoming more trainee nurses on these recruitment schemes, where they will do two years of student nursing and then one year on the apprentice system.

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“The way recruitment works now is changing and we want to adapt with it.”

The number of vacancies for medical roles at King’s Mill and Mansfield Community hospitals is on the decline following a summer recruitment drive of junior nurses, and promoting student development is also a key priority.

Julie Bacon, director for human resources, said: “We want to create a centralised work experience programme and to promote Sherwood Forest Hospitals as a place to work.

“We do find that a lot of work placements given, for example, to Sheffield Hallam University students are to people who originally live in catchment, and this is something to encourage because local recruitment is key.

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“It is important for recruitment to give students a good experience of the trust, something which says ‘come and join us when you finish’ and makes them realise there are careers available to them when they graduate.”

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