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Industry Placement Models in the NHS: New Report Published
The Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Foundation Trust releases a Gatsby-commissioned T Levels in Health and Healthcare Science report: describing T-level industry placement models developed by NHS organisations across England.
T-levels are new post-16 qualifications developed in collaboration with employers, which support young people to develop the technical and practical skills they need to progress to skilled employment, apprenticeships or higher education. Alongside a robust technical qualification, each T-level student completes a 45-day industry placement, which brings immediate benefits for both the student and their host employer.
With subjects including Health, Healthcare Science, and Science, T-levels prepare young people for a range of varied career roles available across the NHS. Given the importance of meeting NHS workforce needs, implementing a successful T-level industry placement scheme can support NHS institutions in building future talent in support of the NHS Long Term Plan. This new report is designed to help NHS employers to get the most from incorporating T-levels into their sustainable workforce strategies.
“T-levels have been a great way to begin to develop our relationship with local FE partners to begin to explore future working collaborations. There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience in our college partners that we are able to share and offer the same back to them. This can only be good for our students (who we hope will be our future colleagues) and their learning.”
The report brings together case studies of models for placement management, developed to suit the requirements of NHS institutions working with their local T-level providers. These models range from individual agreements between a single T-level provider and an NHS organisation, through to Integrated Care System agreements between 25 or more partner organisations.
While the report focuses on placements for Health and Healthcare Science opportunities, the models may be applied across the breadth of roles in the NHS, for example, including Digital, Business & Administration and Finance. Advice from current industry placement hosts on issues such as working with under 18’s and health and safety procedures in the post-COVID-19 context demonstrates solutions to common placement queries and highlights the support available to employers.