A new project has been launched to make a real difference to the careers of students from a wide range of backgrounds, who may have had a disruption to their education, work experience and career journey so far.
The Career Ambassador Project matches Forth Valley College students with a designated NHS Volunteer Ambassador from NHS Forth Valley, who will become a mentor and help highlight the wide range of employment opportunities available in the NHS.
Since the project started, 23 college students have been matched up with an Ambassador from NHS Forth Valley in areas such as Business, Administration, IT, Health Improvement, Planning, Human Resources, Estates and Catering.
The pairs aim meet up at least four times in one-to-one sessions, workshops and site visits to provide advice, guidance and support.
Laura Geoghegan, FVC’s Widening Participation Manager, said: “We are really excited to work alongside our NHS partners to provide our students with tailored career mentoring support. Some of our students have limited support networks and the project will provide them with ongoing support, mentorship and workplace experiences helping to develop key employability skills.”
Noelle MacKay, NHS Forth Valley Employability Manager, said: “This programme offers NHS Forth Valley a unique opportunity for staff across the organisation to engage with our future workforce, in a way that that is both enjoyable and supportive.
“We hope the students will benefit from learning more about what NHS Forth Valley has to offer them as potential employees in a diverse range of roles. Our ambassadors are staff who are passionate about their roles and committed to supporting and positively influencing the career choices these students make.”
Career Ambassadors attend events at schools, colleges, job centres, community groups, job fairs and much more. As an NHS Forth Valley Career Ambassador you will benefit from meeting new people, raise the profile of your service or profession and inspire people across Forth Valley to come and work with us. Ambassadors are supported by training provided by both Forth Valley College and The Scottish Mentoring Network, for which you will receive an accredited qualification.
In NHS Forth Valley every job matters and we are looking for volunteers from all areas – to find out more and apply visit the Career Ambassadors page on the Staff Intranet or email careerambassadorproject@forthvalley.ac.uk
The Forth Valley University College NHS Partnership, which launched in October 2022, is the first formal regional partnership between a health board, university, and college in Scotland. Building on a long-standing relationship between the three institutions, it works across four priority areas: learning, careers, research, and innovation. It aims to deliver transformational change to the health of the area through the delivery of new learning and development opportunities for students and staff working across local health and care services. For more information visit https://fvnhsuniversitycollege.org
