The Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board which includes NHS Trusts, local councils and Health Care Watch groups has been established to bring together a range partners to deliver high quality services to the community we work with.
As an ICB we would like to help care leavers find out more about employment in our sector and the partnership and to do this we will offer a comprehensive range of advice and guidance, training programmes, volunteering and work experience all designed to help progression into work.
The Health and Social Care Employability Academy is a virtual offering to create meaningful and accessible education, employment and training opportunities to ensure diversity and inclusivity for care leavers across the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System.
Our Employability Advocates (EA’s) will work with care leavers and their supporter to ensure a match with the right ‘Get In, Get On and Go Further’ opportunities which could include taster morning and afternoon sessions, work experience varying in length and location. There will also be the opportunity to get involved in employability programmes that include NHS bespoke training, Mental Health First Aid Training, Basic Life Skills, employability training including confidentiality, conduct at work, admin skills, clinical skills, presentation skills, application & interview skills, and work experience.
The employability programme can also lead to a voluntary placement or more work experience if required or even an Apprenticeship or employment in administration or in Health & Social Care.
We will ensure Care Leavers receive pastoral care throughout the ‘Get In, Get on and Go Further’ process where the EA’s will offer telephone, face to face, supervision and support during work experience, employability programmes and apprenticeships.
Whilst on our apprenticeship Care Leavers will be able to access Functional Skills classes and if English is not their first language support to access ESOL and extra support to complete the Care Certificate.
During the recruitment process of applying and starting the role the EA’s will invite the Care Leavers to an Apprenticeship Café to ‘keep in touch’ and support them in gathering their ID, references and answer any questions they may have. They will introduce them to relevant training providers, learning coaches and tutors. The EA will also ensure that the meeting with line managers goes smoothly, and that they attend the Trust inductions and all E-Learning and On-boarding sessions. The EA’s will also keep the Personal Advisers up to date with the process.
Care Leavers will be supported to Go Further into other higher apprenticeship pathways such as Nursing Associate roles, Assistant Practitioner Roles, or Senior Lead Administration roles or even nursing. Care Leavers will be supported before, during and after into these Career Pathways by the EA’s. The EA’s will search job vacancies for the CL’s and encourage them to apply for permanent roles within the ICB. This can also include degree apprenticeship in administration and Health & Social Care
They will support with recruitment processes, application forms and interview skills into all opportunities.
Other support:
- Extra help with the application process for CL’s with English as a second language.
- The EA’s will seek all extra employability funding (bursaries) for the CL’s for work clothes, work boots, travel, etc and advise how the CL’s will access these to ensure they are not missing out on anything they are entitled too.
Working in the Health & Social Care sector brings many personal rewards.
