Work experience, sometimes abbreviated as ‘WEX’, is time spent in a work environment, learning new skills, shadowing staff, and gaining first-hand, real-world experience. It offers you a great opportunity to understand different roles in the NHS and gain experience of being in an NHS environment.
We offer a mix of individual placements and structured programmes and provide support to our local colleges and universities with placements for BTEC and other health-related courses.
What kind of work experience do we offer?
Our work experience programme offers a variety of work experience placements across Alder Hey throughout the year. We offer both clinical and non-clinical shadowing opportunities.
Please note that the duration of placements can vary from one day to a full week. Placements are observational and you will always be supervised.
Who can undertake work experience?
Our work experience programme is aimed at young people thinking about their future careers, based within the Liverpool area. Due to high demand, placements are restricted to Liverpool City Region residents only.
Please note, it is only available to those aged 16 and above.
Information for applicants
Not all departments are able to accept work experience placements and others will have specific criteria which students must fulfil. We do not consider applications where the criteria have not been met or the correct procedure for applying has not been followed.
All eligible applications are dealt with in strict rotation – as we receive high volumes of applications, particularly in summer, we may not be able to accommodate all requests.
Notice
**Please note that as part of your application, we will require evidence of your up-to-date immunisations from your GP or a screenshot of your vaccination information form the NHS App which shows evidence of your immunisations particularly 2 x measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines. If you are unable to obtain a list of your immunisations from your GP/the NHS App you will need to supply written evidence of a blood test result showing immunity to measles, mumps and rubella**
How to Apply
To apply for work experience, please complete the below ‘Expression of Interest’ form. Please note, for your application to be considered we require a minimum of 100 words. Please be mindful that we need at least six weeks’ notice to arrange placements.
Due to the high volume of requests, we aim two respond within two weeks.
Work Experience Form
Other placements
In addition to work experience, we offer a limited number of placement opportunities for students studying BTEC Health and Social Care as well as students on a range of university courses working directly with local colleges and universities. Please note that we do not normally accept applications from individual students for these placements.
Supported Internships
We offer supported internships to students from the City of Liverpool College and Greenbank College in partnership with LUFT, DfN Project Search
The aim of supported internships is to prepare young people with additional needs for paid employment by:
- Supporting them to develop the skills valued by employers.
- Enabling them to demonstrate their value in the workplace.
- Developing confidence in their own abilities to perform successfully at work.
Whilst the ideal outcome from a supported internship is the offer of a paid job from an employer, other outcomes include:
- Builds confidence
- Encourages independence
- Real-world experience
- Develops skills that are transferable
- Promotes future aspirations
- Improves social skills with different people
Partnership with the Princes Trust
Since June 2022, Alder Hey has been working in partnership with the Prince’s Trust to support local people under the age of 30 to help them take their first steps into a career in health and social care.
So, if you’re under 30, we can provide great signposting and advice that’s tailored to your career needs which may include one-to-one support with searching for the right job for you that matches your skills and experience, help with completing job applications and preparing for interviews, insight days or appropriate apprenticeship programmes that will all help with your future employability and potentially lead to a role with us or another organisation. Quite simply, we’re all here for you.
Regarding any Prince’s Trust enquiries, please email: [email protected]