1. Technical Learning and Career Pathways
Jeanette Barlow, Head of Learning and Development

2. Careers within the NHS
When we have been at schools and asked young people “Who works in a hospital?” a high proportion will say doctors and nurses.
A hospital cannot run on doctors and nurses alone; we need facilities and maintenance workers to ensure the hospital is clean and safe, the receptionist who greets the patient, the phlebotomist who takes the blood, the laboratory technician who tests the blood and so on and so on…
Our role within the NHS is to educate young people that actually there are over 300 different job roles.

3. Careers within the NHS
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust currently employs 7000 full and part-time staff in a huge range of clinical and non-clinical roles across all sites.
We provide a full range of general hospital services and complex care to around ½ million people living in West Kent and East Sussex.
One of the largest employers in the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells areas

4. Technical Careers Pathways
Healthcare Science
Health Informatics
Psychological Therapies
Medicine
Estates and Facilities
Management
Medical Associate professions
Pharmacy
Nursing and Midwifery
Wider Healthcare Team
Biomedical, it, psychotherapists, consultants, domestics, porters, engineers electricians, chefs, general managers of services, facilities management, Director, anaesthetist, theatre practitioners, radiotherapists, medical physicists, cardiographers

5. Supporting Schools Work Experience Attendance at Careers Fairs
Mock Interviews with students
Teaching and Classroom Sessions
Midwifery Open Days
Careers in Medicine Evening
Help with writing UCAS applications for medicine
So how do we support young people to choose careers in the NHS
Will can attend individual careers events at schools or we are regularly at events like Kent Choices and the Kent County Show.
Mock interviews can give students a chance to meet unfamiliar people and practice as many have never had any experience of interviews before.
Health Careers have a range of teaching materials exploring different careers in the NHS and staff have been in and helped facilitate classroom sessions.
We usually hold 2 midwifery open days a year where students can come along to our birthing centre and meet with midwives, other support staff and training providers as well as having the chance to look around.
We hold a Careers in Medicine event in March every year at our Tunbridge Well Hospital where 80 students looking to study medicine can come and meet junior doctors and consultants, find out about the application process and have a go at some of our simulation equipment.
As well as this we also have a consultant at Maidstone who is happy to help would-be medical students complete UCAS applications and talk them through the process.
We can see the value of investing time in employability skills when we recruit and believe all children should have equal access to these skills:
Not using text speak, reading the job description, tailoring their application, selling themselves, behavioural interviewing and being able to give examples work or school related.

6. Careers Event
We will be running this again next March and will be working with STEM Ambassadors to ensure that we inspire young people to think about STEM subjects and the careers that can be linked to this when working for the NHS.
In March, Maidstone Hospital held a health and social care careers event for yr-olds. The event (pictured) was attended by 200 students. They were given the chance to speak to staff about training and working in the NHS and try out the latest simulation equipment.

7. Work Experience
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells currently offers work experience to students once they reach Year 12. In the last academic year we placed 175 local students in areas such as;
Theatres
Wards
Medical Physics
ICT
Pharmacy
Diagnostic Radiography
Law/Legal Services
Project Management
Facilities (Engineering)
Laboratories
Therapies
Therapeutic Radiotherapy

8. Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are fast becoming a real alternative to sixth form and university. New apprenticeship standards are being released and considered for healthcare all the time, so it is an exciting time to want to work in this sector.
A number of careers which have followed the traditional routes to technical careers (with students completing A’ Levels and then completing degree courses), are now being mapped to offer an apprenticeship career route from Level 2 through to Degree, and even Masters in some cases.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust currently has 75 apprentices but we are looking to double this number over the next couple of years in line with new Public Sector Targets.
Advantages are earn as you learn, more suited to vocational learners, no student loan, relevent work experience and a genuine job opportunity at the end
Some examples of this are….

9. Apprenticeship Routes into Healthcare Science
Level 2
Healthcare Science Assistant
Level 4
Healthcare Science Associate
Level 6
BSc Degree in Healthcare Science
Advantages – job at end, less debt, career pathway and familiarity in role at an early stage – so people can do a degree but not have stepped into a hospital environment – we find this happens quite frequently, which is sadly a waste of time for the student.

10. There are 52 different specialisms within Healthcare Science
There are 52 different specialisms within Healthcare Science. Certain areas struggle to recruit e.g Opthalmology. Recently in this region there was one person who was recruited into an opthamology post with the correct degree at present there is only one university offering this course in the north of England that was so undersubscribed it hasn’t run this year. The apprenticeship pathways are supporting different ways of working for sustainable services as demands increase and also enable us to “grow own” which inevitably improves retention and supports our recruitment challenges.

11. Apprenticeship Routes into IT
Level 2/3
ICT Users
(IT Support standard currently being developed)
Level 4
Network Engineer
Level 6
Digital & Technology Solutions Professional Degree

12. Apprenticeship Routes to Nursing
Level 2
Clinical Healthcare Support
Level 3
Level 5
Nurse Associate
Assistant Practitioner
Level 6
Nurse Degree
Level 7
Advanced Clinical Practitioner Masters OR
At level 5, there is the choice to progress within nursing or move into an assistant practitioner role such as theatres or therapies
The press is always filled with stories around staff shortages and we are looking at about 50% of nurses reaching retirement within the next ten years – so we need to develop different ways of working a quicker routes into the workplace offering accredited career pathways.

13. Local Developments Pre-Employment Coordinator
Delivering employment programmes
Supporting careers events
Lesson plans and materials for Key Stages 2 - 4
Coming shortly
Career Navigator role
developing a portfolio of job opportunities including apprenticeships across Kent & Medway
Provide relevant and specialist careers advice and guidance to organisations across the Kent & Medway area
Offering and supporting group or individual coaching to unsuccessful candidates to help identify gaps in their learning and development, and support them to overcome the barriers that prevent them from moving forward into careers
Health Education England roles supporting Kent and Medway.
have a Pre-Employment Coordinator working across Kent and Medway They design, deliver or commission pre-employment programmes bespoke to local workforce needs in the aim of producing a “semi-job ready” group of individuals ready for apprenticeships and direct employment. They are also working alongside Kent Education Business Partnership to develop and deliver lesson plans and materials for Key Stage 2 – 4 pupils.

14. National Developments
Health Careers are developing a workforce intelligence tool that profiles job roles and skill shortages.
Gerry is 16 years old and from Brighton. He wants to be a physiotherapist. His plan is to do his degree in Liverpool, then move back to his hometown and get a job in his local hospital.
Workforce intelligence shows a decreasing need for physiotherapists and an increasing need for occupational therapists but this information is not publicly accessible.
Gerry is now 18 and has submitted his UCAS application and has a preliminary offer from the University of Liverpool.
Workforce intelligence still shows a decreasing needs for physiotherapists and increase for OTs
Gerry has qualified and is struggling to find a job in the NHS. His local hospital trust is seeing 30 applications for every newly qualified physiotherapy role but is recruiting OTs from abroad.

15. Health Careers are working with primary schools to challenge gender stereotypical views of health professionals.
Men are doctors and women are nurses. Right?
Health Careers recently commissioned some research to check current awareness of health roles;

17. Careers Resources www.healthcareers.nhs.uk
A range of free resources such as posters, leaflets and booklets to help students with career decisions. There are also resources and teaching plans for teachers and careers advisers.
Career mapping quiz that matches responses to roles in the NHS. Information on work experience, apprenticeships and careers in the NHS.
The Step into the NHS schools’ competition offers students in years 8 and 9 the chance to win a tablet or a £50 Amazon voucher! Kent and Medway winners will have the use of a Simbulance for a day so the winning class will have the opportunity to practice clinical skills in a fully equipped simulated ambulance vehicle.

18. Head of Learning and Development Jeanette Barlow
Contact Details
Head of Learning and Development
Jeanette Barlow
Widening Participation Lead
(Work Experience, Apprenticeships and Early Careers)
Gayle Epps