Young people from Teesside have started their career journey at their local health trust – as part of a new partnership to develop the next generation of NHS staff.
The students will start placements at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in nursing and allied healthcare professional areas.
The group of 24 from the Hartlepool College of Further Education, Hartlepool Sixth Form College and Stockton Riverside College will carry out the T Level placements.
T Levels are a two-year level 3 qualification for people aged 16 to 19 year, set up by the government to help young people to develop the knowledge, attitude and practical skills to progress into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or further study.
Emma Davies, education lead, said: “Last year we supported a small group of students through the T level initiative – this helped us to learn what worked and where further support was needed which has enabled us to improve and increase our offer for this academic year.
“The students will be placed on rotations to give them a greater insight into different areas and job roles and how this supports the patient journey.
“We have developed some really exciting plans to support the students’ development throughout their time on placement.”
The students attended an induction day this month at the University Hospital of Hartlepool ahead of the start of their placements.
Emma added: “The offer we have developed for those students involved has been helped by the fantastic relationships we have developed with our local colleges and we hope to share experiences and good practice with other local Trusts.
“Following the induction, the students left feeling inspired, motivated and enthusiastic about their upcoming placements.
“This not only gives the young people involved invaluable work experience but gives the organisation an opportunity to develop its workforce of the future.”
Every T level student is required to complete an industry work placement (IWP) which lasts a minimum of 315 hours or approximately 45 days.
This provides them with an invaluable opportunity to put their learning, knowledge and skills into practice in a real workplace environment and add value to the organisation.