Barts Health recognised for local employment programme
Barts Health NHS Trust has been recognised in a report by UCL Partners for its work to increase local youth employment across the areas it serves.
The trust has implemented a range of programmes focused on securing NHS jobs for young people and local residents.
Examples include:
- Healthcare Horizons - a widening participation scheme involving 37 local schools and colleges and support local young people into employment.
- Community Works for Health - a programme to provide better routes into entry-level NHS jobs, focussed on people living in Hackney and the City of London, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, and Newham.
- Barts Health Futures - a partnership between Barts Health and Newham College to provide a skills hub within Newham College, providing support to local people to secure employment in the NHS and upskilling those already employed.
The report explores how Barts Health and three other trusts within the partnership have taken action to improve employment, increase income, improve education, and reduce air pollution. These ‘social determinants of health’ – the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age – can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health.
The report also highlights how Barts’ approach has been vital, whether it is changing hiring systems or making the most of partnerships with local schools and colleges.
In terms of impact, the approach has resulted in:
- Over 3,000 students being engaged with the Health Horizons programme with 227 young people progressing into employment and 303 into health-related degrees.
- As of 2022-23, Community Works for Health has trained 119 local candidates in pre-employment skills, arranged 60 work placements, and produced 88 job outcomes for local candidates.
- Barts Health Futures has more than doubled the number of students studying health and social care qualifications and pathways at Newham College
Looking ahead, the trust is looking to build on the above success as well as making the most of schemes such as Whitechapel Life Sciences and Whipps Cross Redevelopment to maximise local employment from these investments and develop career paths to high quality jobs.
Sadhek Khan, head of community employment at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “60-80% of mental and physical well-being are attributable to social determinants, including employment.
“This report really highlights this and details the successful approaches to meaningful employment which could be understood better and adopted across the wider sector.”
Read more: