There was a lively buzz around the room as students had carefully researched questions to ask The Walton Centre staff so they were fully equipped to navigate NHS career options.
Lesleyann Craig, Operational Careers Hub Lead, said: “We are really pleased with the enthusiasm from both students and staff at The Walton Centre to participate in this event. Feedback shows that many students weren’t aware of the variety of job roles that were showcased today so the event has enabled us to attract and inspire students to consider a rewarding career in health and care that is on their doorstep.”
The Walton Centre teams had prepared interactive short sessions to bring to life the world of work and pupils were able to visit six different job roles. For example, students were able to see how clinical teams manage in-hospital cardiac arrests and were able to practise using resuscitation equipment on dummies.
One student commented: “Staff were open and honest about their roles and it made me feel sure that I want to work in the NHS”.
Once the dust had settled and students had left for the day the staff at the Walton Centre approached us to arrange a further expedition in the coming months; we happily agreed.
Lisa Phillips, Vocational Learning Coordinator and Operational Apprenticeship Lead, The Walton Centre, said: “Inspiring the next generation of nurses, doctors, Allied Health Professionals (AHP) and non-clinical staff members is very important to us at The Walton Centre and the Workplace Safari has given us the ability to work closely schools from our region to show the wide variety of roles that we have here. It has given the pupils the chance to come into our hospital and speak to our professionals to find out what qualifications and skills are needed for each role and the different pathways they can take. It has also helped to remove any barriers young people may face when looking to the future and considering what career path they should take. Working with the Careers Hub has been fantastic and we plan on running a Workplace Safari every year.”
The journey doesn’t end there though! At the Careers Hub we want event experiences such as these to have a long-lasting impact on the students and that is why we sent our young people home with post-work to help them reflect on their learning. Students have also been invited to access our health and care programme, Creating Careers: A Step Ahead, an on-demand, modular based programme supporting students to build the skills, knowledge and experience needed to make a competitive application to health and care roles or courses. Find out more about the programme here.
And so, the journey continues, to inspire and raise aspirations for all of our young people right across the Liverpool City Region…but only once our ears have recovered from all the buzz!
The Health and Life Science sector employs over 110,000 people throughout Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool being home to more specialist hospitals and health centres than any other UK city outside of London. With hundreds of health and medical companies based within Liverpool City Region, the area is considered to be one of the UK’s top three clusters of biomedical activity. Such opportunities demonstrate the importance of introducing the world of the NHS to our young people.
