National award for scheme which supports Armed Forces community into NHS careers

A programme that was founded at NNUH has scooped a national award for helping ex forces personnel into careers in the NHS.

Step into Health was piloted at the hospital five years ago to provide a dedicated pathway for the Armed Forces community to access career opportunities in the health service.

The scheme, which is now nationwide and is led by NHS Employers, won its first ever award at the prestigious British Ex-Forces in Business Awards, taking home Ex-Forces Initiative of the Year.

The awards honour the accomplishments of veterans who have made a successful and notable transition from military life into meaningful new employment, and the employers that have supported them. Since its inception, Step into Health has helped match more than 180 service leavers, veterans, their spouses and dependants with jobs in the health service.

The Step into Health team

Jeremy Over, Director of Workforce at NNUH, praised the work of Julia Watling, NNUH Workforce Development Programme Manager, who kicked the programme off.

“We are fully committed to supporting the Armed Forces and delighted that Step into Health has won this national award. This is testament to the work of Julia and her team whose passion for supporting others’ career development is second to none,” he said.

NNUH is also one of 50 employers across the country to have received the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award from the Ministry of Defence.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, added: “We are immensely proud to have received this award, particularly as it celebrates the contribution veterans and their families make to our health service. It’s great to see the NHS embrace the Step into Health programme and recognise the amazing pool of talent among the Armed Forces community, especially at a time when the health service is facing serious workforce supply challenges.
We now have 80 NHS organisations pledged to Step into Health, and we look forward to seeing the programme expand across the UK in the future.”

For more information about the programme, visit https://www.nhsemployers.org/stepintohealth