The Volunteer to Career programme is a pioneering project that will help address shortages in the NHS workforce by actively supporting volunteers into a healthcare career.

Oxford Health is one of 10 trusts awarded £25,000 by Health Education England (HEE) to increase the number of volunteers pursuing a career in frontline health and care services after their time volunteering.

Clinical leaders at the Trust will be working with the Volunteer Programme Team, Learning and Development and Recruitment to design projects, based on local clinical workforce needs, through which volunteers can develop the skills they need for a career here. The first pilot will be the Adult Eating Disorder Team based at Savernake Hospital, Marlborough.

Julie Pink, Head of Oxford Health Charity and Involvement, is overseeing the Volunteer to Career project.

She said: “This is a really important scheme to address one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS – staff shortages. I’ve always been delighted to hear when volunteers join the Trust as paid employees. But we are now going to build on our success to date by nurturing our volunteers so that even more of them join us as paid staff. I really look forward to developing this model with the Eating Disorders Team in Wiltshire and then replicating it across the Trust.”

Workshops are now getting underway with HEE  and charity partner Helpforce to support the roll out of this programme over the next year. Recruitment for volunteers will be getting underway soon.