Hospital and college aim to boost training

The Skills for Health pledge – from Hartlepool College of Further Education and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust – comes as the impact of Covid 19 has shone a spotlight on the vital services provided by the health and social care sectors.

The Education Training Collective will now work in collaboration to help identify skill needs, recruit new staff, educate and raise awareness in communities and upskill or reskill existing staff.

Thanks to funding from The Prince’s Trust, the colleges have also committed to help more 16 to 30-year-olds, start new careers with the NHS and wider care sector.

Darren Hankey, principal and chief executive of Hartlepool College of Further Education, said: “There are clear indications of current and future skills gaps in the NHS and wider health and social care sector.

“In further education, collaboration is key. We hope to build on the work we currently do with the hospital Trust to help meet it’s organisational development needs as well as to ensure our curriculum is preparing our students for opportunities that will clearly be there once they leave college.”

Tracy Squires, deputy chief people officer at the trust, said: “We welcome the pledge as an education-led initiative to help people pursue a career in health and social care.

“As one of the region’s largest employers it’s only right and proper that we support this initiative and attract local people to work for the trust. Education and employment can help people live happier, healthier lives.”