The NCA Cadet Team would like to thank all the trainers and placement hosts who have supported 49 T Level Healthcare Cadets from Hopwood Hall College, Oldham College, Salford City College and Bury College to successfully complete their 10-week industrial placements across the NCA.
T Levels are a new, two-year qualification for 16–19-year-olds designed with employers to help learners acquire the knowledge, attitude and practical skills to thrive in the workplace and help develop a generation of future healthcare professionals. A high proportion of our learners have now secured places in higher education to study Healthcare-related degrees, and many have said that they would like to seek employment within the NCA in the future. Others have also secured employment as Band 2 Healthcare Assistants through NHSP to allow them to continue working in their placement areas alongside their studies.
Feedback from both learners and placements hosts has been extremely positive and the successes this programme has brought has exceeded expectations.
Suzanne Lynch, H8 Ward Manager of the Intestinal Failure Unit at Salford Royal Hospital, said “The cadets were outstanding! They used their initiative, worked within their limitations, interacted extremely well with all those they worked with and were liked by both staff and patients. They were not daunted by a frequently challenging patient group in a specialist department. I sent feedback to their college tutors to say how much they had impressed us, and we helped them access NHSP with a view to them being more than welcome to bank on the ward when we had availability. They were consistently punctual, well-presented, and behaved professionally at all times. They were an asset to the ward during the time that they were here.”
We are excited to welcome our next cohort of T Level cadets this September!