Trust invited to national stage to talk career education and inspiring local young people
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been singled out for its ongoing commitment to young people in the local area. It was the only employer presenting at a national briefing on 7 November, organised by the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) with organisations such as the BBC, the UK Space Agency and the Federation of Small Businesses in attendance to discuss new employer standards for careers education, which formally launched on 8 November.
The Trust, through its close partnership with the Bucks Skills Hub, was a key participant in a pilot run by the CEC to apply its nine standards for career education, which includes promises to ‘provide meaningful opportunities’ and ‘raise awareness of pathways into work’ to support young people in their next steps beyond education. The Trust presented why it decided to use the standards, the value they have brought and the changes the Trust has made as a result.
Chief People Officer at the Trust, Bridget O’Kelly, said: “This is a great opportunity to share at a national level the work we are doing to support local young people, and also how we are supporting the development of a national framework for employers.”
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is the biggest employer in the county and, as part of the Buckinghamshire Cornerstone Employers Group, it has a longstanding commitment to working with local schools and young people to nurture the next generation of talent.
This recently included participating in a teacher encounters programme, where 7 teachers from three schools were invited to visit a variety of departments within the Trust, such as Critical Care Outreach, Pharmacy, X-Ray and Research and Innovation to learn more about the variety of careers available to their students and the practical day-to-day application of their subject areas. The aim is to expand this to all local schools around the Trust.
Trudy Sinacore, Careers Leader and Advisor at John Colet School Wendover, said: “It exceeded all our expectations. Teachers were really impressed. There was a lot going on, a lot more to the hospital and roles that we didn’t even know existed, and lots of opportunities for our young people.”
You can watch a video about the teacher encounters programme here.