The past year has shown the importance of healthcare in society.
There are more than 350 careers in the NHS. To encourage and inform young learners of these careers, Future U has been running Health and Social Care webinars in partnership with Health Education England and the other UniConnect programmes from the Northwest (Higher Horizons, GM Higher, Shaping Futures).
In these sessions, learners get an opportunity to speak with current professionals on a 1-2-1 basis and to gain an in-depth understanding of the sector.
Following an hour-long session focused on certain careers, every other Thursday evening, our Outreach Officers Oliver and Andy run a 10-minute breakout room session to discuss opportunities to study towards these careers at the 4 universities in Lancashire and on degree apprenticeships. So far, Future U has done 4 sessions covering Nursing, Midwifery, Social Care Meets Primary Care and Occupational Therapists & Physiotherapists. The learners have been asking great questions about how to gain the experience needed before applying for the courses, so the team directed them to volunteer opportunities available in Lancashire.
Oliver Norris, Outreach Officer at Future U said, ” The Creating Careers webinars have been a brilliant way for young people in the Northwest to discover the potential careers available to them in the NHS. It has been inspiring to see their ambition and commitment.”
Alongside this, our third box from the Pillars of Growth session, the Health box, is ready to go. Health is one of the six pillars of growth industries as identified by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) where jobs of the future will be.
As part of this fully self-contained session, students will explore the vast number of careers available within the healthcare sector alongside pathways into these careers. There is also a range of fun activities where students are taken from the questionable practices of a medieval doctor and into modern-day healthcare, where they will explore how simple hygiene practices help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. These activities also allow each school to reach the desired Gatsby benchmarks by offering quality information about future career and labour market options. It also links curriculum learning with careers.
The first two boxes we have delivered are Energy and Low Carbon boxes & Advanced Manufacturing.
Learn more about our upcoming activities here.