Work experience guide - introduction
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NHS Highland's tiered approach to work awareness and experience.
Foreword
At NHS Highland, we pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, compassionate care to the communities we serve across a vast and beautiful region. We have agreed as part of the Employability and Widening Access Strategy that we commit to developing our workforce now and in the future.
We have set out our ambition to create pathways and employment opportunities for all with a focus on supporting key groups who experience barriers to employment; and young people are part of that. We have agreed one of our key aims in year 1 is around school engagement, promoting pathways, apprenticeships and a review our delivery of work experience.
Our plans to develop a tiered approach to work experience opportunities will provide an opportunity to gain insight into the variety of diverse careers and entry routes available and develop essential skills that will serve you well in any future career.
This guide provides essential information to inform you on the options. We are excited to engage with you and encourage you to approach your work experience with curiosity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. This is your chance to explore the many exciting career opportunities available within the NHS, and we hope it sparks a passion for health and social care that will last a lifetime.
On behalf of NHS Highland, we look forward to meeting you and supporting you throughout your work experience journey.
Employability Lead, Megan Glass
Redefining work experience for young people
By adopting a strategic approach to work experience, we aim to increase the number of young people we can support.
Our focus is on encouraging senior phase pupils to take up the opportunity to find out about a range of different work environments and roles, to plan for, reflect upon and learn from these experiences. Our aim is for young people to move away from a focus upon work experience as a one-off event to engaging in meaningful encounters where they have the opportunity to learn about what work is like, what skills or knowledge may be needed for a role and what it takes to be successful in different careers.
This guide is designed to support you to identify your options and how to find out about, experience and select potential future career pathway(s). We hope that our tiered approach will help you to make an informed decision about what kind of career you want to embark on in the future. Learning about diverse careers and engaging with professionals are essential aspects of our work experience approach.
Careers in NHS Highland events
The Careers in NHS Highland days provide secondary schools pupils with a chance to find out about a wide range of different careers and pathways within health and social care.
A range of workshops delivered by individuals with first-hand experience of working in the role enables you to gain hands-on experience. Workshops are interactive and cover a range of different health and social care roles. Not only are there hands-on activities to take part in which will help you to understand the skills required and challenges of the role, you also have the chance to chat to and ask question of those currently working in these roles.
The events are suitable for S1-S3 pupils to inform your subject choices and provide an insight into the range of different career opportunities in the health and social care setting, and the qualifications that are required to support entry into these careers.
Careers awareness workshops
If you are in S4-S6, and not too sure about what career or pathway would be best for you, these sessions may be ideal for you. They are designed to help you to gain a more in-depth awareness of both the range of potential careers and the skills and knowledge required.
The workshops help you to appreciate how the skills and knowledge you already have can translate into working in different professions. You will be able to experience the types of activities individuals are involved in on a day-to-day basis and experience a range of different workplace settings.
As part of the awareness workshops, you are encouraged to undertake SVQ Work Placement - designed to recognise the valuable learning and development which takes place as a result of planning and carrying out a suitable work placement.
Work experience placements
Once you have a clearer idea of your chosen pathway, undertaking a work experience placement may be the next step for you. The placement provides up to one week shadowing in the workplace for individuals. If you are aged 16+ and looking to gain greater career insight in a real workplace, or someone looking to switch paths, a work experience placement may be for you.
The placement is ideal if you are applying for a vocational programme of study at college or university. It will help you to demonstrate your commitment, that you have a clear understanding of the pathway, have had a chance to discuss the role with someone in the role or profession, and have shadowed someone within the workplace.
By having a tiered approach to raising awareness of the range of different careers and pathways into health and social care we aim to provide young people with tailored opportunities to find out about different types of careers and understand how their skills, knowledge and ambitions align with these roles.
By attending events, having the chance to meet with individuals who work in different careers as well as gaining 'hands-on' experience in a safe environment, our aim is to enable young people to experience more careers than afforded by a few days shadowing in the workplace alone.
Our goal is to ensure that when a young person requests a work placement they are doing this from a position of awareness, having already had the chance to find out about the career, the day-to-day role of the person and are in a more informed position to benefit from their placement.
The rest of this guide outlines the process for applying for work experience placements, if you decide this is the pathway for you.
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Continue, to read about work experience placements.
Work experience
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Work experience
Fancy getting ahead in planning your future career with NHS Highland?
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Work experience guide - introduction
NHS Highland's tiered approach to work awareness and experience.
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Work experience placements
NHS Highland will ensure that your work experience placement is a positive and effective experience.
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Routes into a work experience placement
The application process.
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Answers to questions about work experience placements
Some questions answered.