Important work to develop a sustainable, local NHS workforce for the future has earned East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) the Fair Train Gold Standard.
Fair Train is the nationally accredited Work Experience Quality Standard which rewards employers such as East Lancashire Hospitals who provide young people with opportunities to learn more about meaningful careers within the NHS.
Dr Ian Stanley, ELHT Deputy Director for Education said: “East Lancashire Hospitals is proud to achieve Gold standard accreditation from Fair Train.
“To be one of a select few NHS trusts across England to receive the Fair Train Gold Standard is richly deserved and a tribute to the hard work and initiative shown by our Workforce Education team.
“This is also good news for young people in our area who are considering employment in the NHS and further proof that East Lancashire Hospitals, supported by Health Education England, is a leader when it comes to developing our local workforce.”
The NHS offers hundreds of career opportunities and work experience is an excellent way for young people to gain knowledge and experience of diverse careers such as nursing, radiography and pathology, as well as accountancy, catering and administration to name just a few.
In the past six months alone East Lancashire Hospitals, in partnership with local colleges, has welcomed more than 300 students who have benefitted from the Trust’s work experience and work placement initiatives.
“Our sincere congratulations to East Lancashire Hospitals on achieving their Fair Train Gold Standard accreditation,” said Paul Parker, Communications Manager for Fair Train.
"The evidence….demonstrates clearly that East Lancashire Hospitals has a number of initiatives in place for the many different types of work-based learning opportunities the Trust offers, and that departments offering those work placements do so at a high standard.”
As one of the largest employers in Lancashire, East Lancashire Hospitals’ work experience programme enables the Trust to attract the brightest and best young people to work in the NHS here in East Lancashire.
ELHT’s Acting Assistant Director of Education, Gillian Cairns said: “We know that a personalised and well-planned work experience can make a massive contribution to a person’s future career choice. We are very pleased to see this formally recognised by Fair Train and Health Education England.”