Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Context

• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the most deprived areas of England, with low quality housing, a transient community and poor levels of education.
• With 7,000 staff, the Trust is the largest employer in the area. They have developed a widening participation programme to attract a diverse workforce and capture talent from the local community.

Widening participation in employment opportunities

The Trust has developed partnerships and initiatives to cover:

• People with learning disabilities – partnering with schools, colleges and the local authority to support twelve supported internships.
• Prison leavers – working with Balfour Beattie who are building a new hospital for the Trust to provide employment opportunities in construction for ex-offenders.
• Young homeless people – the trust secured a grant to convert one of their empty buildings into accommodation for homeless people aged 16-24 – accommodation was offered on the condition that the residents complete an apprenticeship to provide them with employment opportunities.
• The local refugee and migrant community – the Trust established the Health Overseas Professional programme (HOP) to help skilled people back into suitable employment. So far this programme has provided employment opportunities to over 300 people.
• Local recruitment – the Trust is working with local people to support NHS jobs searches, including interview advice and guidance and helping people transfer their previous experience into NHS roles.
• People with mental health considerations – working with a network of local schools and academies, the Trust have developed supported internships;
• Young people – The trust has a thriving apprenticeship programme which provides over 180 apprenticeships at any given time.