31st May 2024
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) has been identified as a leading acute trust for the New to Care recruitment programme by NHS England.
The NHS England (NHSE) New to Care programme looks at recruiting people wishing to start a career in the NHS from outside health and care sectors. The aim behind this is to minimise vacancies, bring different transferable skills and experience into the NHS and support more people to progress into healthcare roles in future.
Over the last few years, the NCA has been reviewing its approach to entry level recruitment – considering alternative attraction methods, and recruitment strategies to fill key posts across the organisation.
Improved coordination with the Widening Participation team has supported the shift away from traditional recruitment methods (job adverts and interviews) to more inclusive approaches like community engagement events and pre-employment programmes.
Partnership working with key stakeholders such as councils, charitable organisations and faith groups, has also helped with widening attraction enabling the NCA to reach people who face barriers to NHS employment, but would make excellent Healthcare Support Workers or Health Care Assistants.
Currently 48.6% of NCA new starters are New to Care, which is just below the NHSE target of 50%. With the majority of other acute trusts only reporting 20%, the NCA is a frontrunner for the programme and work continues to ensure the NCA tips the scale above NHSE figures, helping more local people who show a passion for healthcare to find success in their job search.
