Volunteer to Career is an enhanced volunteering programme which aims to support people interested in a health and care career to take their first steps. In this bonus episode, producer Jules speaks to Ben Chandler about Volunteer to Career. They discuss why the programme focuses on volunteering in primary care settings such as doctors surgeries and what a volunteer can expect from getting involved.

To find out more about Volunteer to Career visit https://improvinglivesnw.org.uk/volunteering-volunteer-to-career/

Get in touch with Volunteering Discovery contact jules.alderson@nhs.net

Volunteering Discovery is a Hospital Radio Norwich production for NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System.

And welcome to Volunteering Discovery.

This is a podcast which takes you behind the scenes of volunteering in health

and social care in Norfolk and Waveney.

Volunteers enhance the experience of people accessing health and social

care in a huge variety of ways.

In our hospitals, our communities, and even from the comfort of their own homes.

In each podcast, we'll be hearing from those who give their

time supporting others and the people who work alongside them.

I'm your host, Sarah, a volunteer coordinator working in the NHS.

Welcome to this special bonus episode of Volunteering Discovery.

In our previous episode all about volunteering with Centre 81, you

will have heard our guests mention the Volunteer to Career programme.

In this bonus episode our producer Jules talks to Ben Chandler about

Volunteer to Career and the origins of the project in Norfolk and Waveney,

what it involves for the participants and why it offers something different.

Jules starts the conversation by asking Ben to introduce himself and his role.

So my name is Ben Chandler.

I'm a Senior Workforce Transformation Manager working for the Norfolk

and Waveney ICB, where they focus on rural and coastal communities.

And as part of that portfolio of work, I run what's called the Volunteer

to Career and Primary Care Program.

So this is a new project that's working within primary care areas in Norfolk

and Waveney and that is designed around the idea of building a career pathway

for those who are volunteering to then be able to find out more about health

and social care careers as well as then providing them the support to then step

into those careers at whatever level might be most appropriate for them.

Primary care consists of four key areas, so that's namely general practice,

dentistry, optometry and pharmacy.

Optometry is looking after the health of your eyes.

So for the majority of people, that's just regular check ups

on a yearly or two yearly basis.

But for others, that might be more in depth if they find any

issues, where they might then pass you on to other organisations.

Our focus has always been in the primary care, so general practice,

dentists, pharmacies and optometrists.

But we've now also started working with acute hospitals, so working

in the diagnostics team and the emergency department team.

And also working with other charities particularly in Great Yarmouth where we've

just had Centre 81 come on board, who obviously already have a lot of volunteers

come through, but we're now going to help them support to change their pathway.

So they, not only they come in as volunteers, but they come to career

to help them step into a career.

Volunteer to career you've mentioned is a stepping stone for people

interested in a health and care career.

Could you tell us more about why this particular service has been set up?

Absolutely.

So there's been two key reasons for this one.

So firstly, focusing on volunteering in primary care.

At the moment in Norfolk and Waveney, there isn't much opportunity for

volunteering again, whether it's a general practice or a dentist

or pharmacist or optometrist.

So what we have been looking to do is a, to set up new opportunities,

working with new hosts and then second to that, it's then looking to really

try and broaden the opportunity for people to think about, could I have

a career in health and social care?

And could I support my local community and healthcare settings?

So what we've tried to do for them is give them the opportunity to then

step into these roles, experience what it might be like from a volunteering

perspective, so that they can understand exactly what happens in a GP, what

roles are involved in a GP, and what exactly do I find interesting.

This will then give them the basis to then think, you know what, I

would love a role in this one.

I'm already volunteering, so I've started to build up my CV and experience.

And then we're there to help set them up with whatever next steps

they might need to be able to go into a health and social care career.

Why is this initiative something that is worth bringing to life?

This is a fantastic opportunity for a new type of workforce to

be introduced into primary care.

So as we all know, as we've seen in the news, and like you've just

mentioned, primary care is under a lot of stress at the moment.

There's been various other workforce initiatives that have come in, whether

it's been new roles, new ways of working.

What volunteering is going to be able to do is to help.

is help just bring an extra level of people into the into the room

that might come but with various different levels of experience and

then be able to really build on those who've got that enthusiasm to make a

difference and do something different.

What kind of activities will volunteers be doing

as part of the program?

It's been really individual depending on the practice and what

their their sort of needs are.

There are some much larger practices where they have a wide Range of things

that could be involved with and other smaller ones and everything from being

a greeter You know helping people when they arrive at the GP practice

to help them with anything from are you okay with using digital screen?

Have you got any initial questions?

They can direct them to or even just sitting there with somebody who's feeling

a bit nervous and just needs a bit of a chat Through to more back office

functions, whether it is supporting the admin staff maintaining notice boards or

even a bit of You with making sure that the GPs have a cup of tea waiting outside

their office between appointments so that they can carry on working without

in being in desperate need of a biscuit.

Is there anything that you could say about the process to make sure

that volunteers aren't being exploited, that it's not job substitution?

Volunteers are there to add value to their workforce, there to do jobs

that need to be done, but at the same time, they need to be adding value to the

volunteers lives and their experience.

We are not there to say with a volunteer in place, you no longer

need that reception staff, or you no longer need that healthcare

support worker, absolutely not.

All of those roles are paid, definitive roles that are required.

What volunteers are there to do is just help enhance whatever roles it might

be, or whatever task it might be, to help everything else run smoother.

We've talked about some of the activities that volunteers might be doing.

Would they be expected to be involved in any clinical care?

No, that is one thing that volunteers won't be doing in the

Volunteer to Career Programme.

We've made it very clear that clinical work is going to be

outside of the scope for volunteers.

However, if in terms of the Volunteer to Career Progression Pathway, they then

identified a role that was a clinical role that they wanted to step into, And

the host organization was supportive of it, then that might be part of

their training pathway, but that's outside of this specific program scope.

You mentioned earlier that volunteers will be receiving extra

support through volunteer to career.

Could you tell us more about that, please?

So three elements to this.

So the first is every volunteer will get a dedicated mentor that they'll

meet once a month and they'll be able to give them some really good

career life coaching type work.

So where are they?

What do they want?

Where do they want to go?

These are fully qualified mentors.

And you will have an hour a month to discuss with them.

The second element is training.

So as you go through your volunteer to career project, you might identify

that you might need a level two English and maths, for example,

there might be some sort of science qualification or anything else that

might be needed to enhance your CV.

In discussions with the team, we will then look to help support

you through those projects.

And there are, for some instances, there might be some small amount of

funding available to help with this, or it might just be that we can take

you to, whether it is council run training or other opportunities.

And the third and final thing is what we call the discovery phase.

So this may be as you're finding about new roles, you might hear about

one that really interests you and you want to find out more about it.

And what we then might look to do is, after you've looked at them in a primary

care setting, we would look to support you to find them and maybe shadow

someone in a secondary care setting, for example, in a hospital, or even

other opportunities in the, in social care or other healthcare settings.

So when you get to the end of your project in the last few weeks,

you've had your meeting with your mentor, you've discovered a whole

range of new NHS careers and you've decided on one that you want to be.

We'll then look to help set you up and into that role.

So for example, this might look like moving into a, Non clinical role in the

host organization you're in and whether that might be a receptionist role or

there's other potential back Back office roles that they might need to support with

and you'll be able to work with your host Organizations to do any further training

they might need you to do Other options that you might look in is to go in at

entry level health care clinical roles And this could be a health care support

worker where you'll then look to do things like the care certificate again with your

employing organization You Or there might be other roles that require next steps.

So for example, routes like this could be apprenticeships.

And this range from everything through to dental apprenticeships,

pharmacy technician, through to even nursing apprenticeships.

Or you might actually decide that you want to take the next step and go for a

career that requires a university degree.

So again, we'd help set up, make sure that you've got the right requirements.

If you need help writing your CV or your UCAS application, we'll look to put you

in touch with the right people and give you that support to make those next steps.

And is there any evidence that schemes like

Volunteer2Career make a difference?

Do we know if this will really help people?

Absolutely.

So we in Norfolk and Waveney are part of the fourth round of projects

nationally that have been running this.

There have been about 40, 45 projects completed.

And within that, the sort of stats you're looking at is anywhere up

to the high 60s, low 70 percent of volunteers have gone into employment

in a health and care setting.

Do you know what kind of roles they've gone into?

Oh, a wide variety from both administration, non clinical roles, but as

well as healthcare support worker, nurse, nurses, whether it be apprenticeships,

but then also there have been some cases of people going into full time

education degrees, looking to step into healthcare roles in a few years time.

And who is Volunteer2Career open to?

Volunteer's career is open to anybody who lives in Norfolk and Waveney.

The minimum age is 18.

However, we have certain select host sites that may be able to take 16 year olds.

So if you are 16 and are interested, please do get in touch and we can look

to see if we can make that happen.

And there is no maximum age.

It is for anybody who is either interested in volunteering,

interested in career change, interested in health and social care.

And at the end of the three month project, if you want to keep volunteering.

There is no end date to the volunteering side of life.

And then if you want to step into a health and social career instead, fantastic.

So it might sound like this is something that's perfect for students.

Is there anybody else that this might appeal to?

Everybody from young students who are looking at leaving school,

but also those who might have had a change in life situation.

We've had a few volunteers come forward who, for example, the children

have left school, they've left home, and they're looking to start

to come back into the workplace.

We've had others who are simply looking for a career change.

Thank you.

and hear so much about health and social care, but don't really know

where to start because it is an intimidating, massive organisation.

What kind of person are you hoping will come forward and do they

need any previous skills or experience in health and care to apply for the role?

So looking for people absolutely no experience required

whatsoever, whether it's volunteering or health and social care.

Before you start the role, we will go through various training packages.

You'll get a volunteer specific one as well as an induction progress

with your host organization.

So you'll be fully set up and good to go before you go.

So the only thing that I really am looking for somebody who's put their hand up

and said, I'm interested in this and are willing to turn up for the hours.

As long as you're somebody who can do that, everything else that you

might think you need, whether it's, you might feel a bit quiet, you might

lack confidence in talking to people.

If the idea of being a greeter and having to say hi to people when they walk into

the room terrifies you, do not discount yourself from volunteering because there

will be other things that we can do.

And then it might be that that's something that we focus on.

It might be your mentor has some ideas on how you can build

your confidence and actually you end with going to be a greeter.

and building that challenge up for yourself.

If somebody is feeling a bit nervous about how to start a

career or about the volunteering itself, is there anything that

you could say to reassure them?

Yes, I think that the health and social care setting is one of

the most welcoming ones there is.

I'd say the important things to remember is don't go into it to any

biases of I know exactly what I want to do because if I think if you do

that You might intimidate yourself out of it if it doesn't appear exactly

what you're expecting it to be.

It's just about knowing that you can come into it with an open mind And know

that the people left and right of you their day job is looking after people

so they'll look after you as well

And what kind of commitment do people need to make to be

able to do volunteer to career?

So as part of the volunteer to career project we ask for a minimum of

three hours a week that is completely designed around your schedule.

So whether you need early, late shift, morning shift, afternoon shift, or

weekends we work between you and the host to find whatever works best for you.

And saying that, if you actually want to volunteer for more hours, then there

will always be opportunities for that.

If somebody thinks that volunteer to career is for them, what are the

next steps that they should take?

If you'd like to get in touch and potentially join the program,

Program either search the voluntary Norfolk get involved platform for

volunteer to career or visit us directly at improving lives nw.co uk

, one of my team will get in touch with you with a very brief expression

of interest form that just ask some very simple questions of who

are you, why are you interested?

Following that we'll then get in touch and set a meeting up

between someone in my team and you.

Virtually more than likely or could be a phone call or whatever is suitable where

again We'll just look to get to know you better find out where you are find out

more about your circumstances and where you might Geographically want to do the

project so everybody has to undergo a dbs check that will be carried out by the host

organization The dbs check is a criminal record check and that is a requirement

for the project most people working in health and social care locations.

However, if you do have a criminal record, that does not necessarily mean

you won't be able to do this project.

And so if you do, and you want to find out some more information about your specific

requirements, then get in touch and we'll be able to offer you more direction.

Once we've got all the information, we'll then reach out to our host

network and find who's closest to you and who we think will be the

most appropriate location for you.

And then we will set up a date where you can go and have a visit.

You'll chat to the practice manager, the volunteer lead in the organisation.

They'll get to meet you and you'll get to meet them and find out if it's a good fit.

If all of that goes to plan and you're keen to go forward then we'll set you up.

You'll do a volunteering training day followed by an induction

training day in the host location.

As well as issuing your uniform lanyard and polo shirt.

And then agree your timetable and you're good to go.

In terms of transport, we will work with you to cover your transport

costs to and from the organisation with various terms and conditions

attached to what that might be.

We provide you with a uniform so you'll get a polo shirt and a

lanyard from us which you'll be able to wear for all your shifts.

And you'll also have access within the host to the tea and coffee room.

And then one of the final things you'll do after your uniform issue is

you'll be issued your welcome pack.

And as part of that, there is the volunteer agreement.

And this is a, again, a one page document that just states what you expect from

the employer or the host organization, and also what they expect from you.

So some normal things from you'll be on time, you'll be polite, courteous, and

kind to those that you're working with.

As you told us earlier, Ben, volunteering isn't as prolific

within primary care as it is in other settings, such as in our hospitals.

Was there a particular reason that you wanted to be involved in this project?

I used to be in the military and I was there for six years before

I then decided I wasn't having fun, wanted to do something different.

And so I was in a very fortunate position where I had quite a

long changeover between careers.

So I didn't have to.

Find a job beforehand.

I was able to take my time and really understand and looking back on that if

I'd seen the opportunity to Volunteer for a morning a week or an afternoon

a week or whatever it might have been whilst I was job hunting for the rest of

it that would have been an opportunity.

I absolutely would have taken up because i've never had an opportunity to volunteer

in the past It's never been saying discussed around my friends my colleagues

or anything along those lines And it would have been a really good moment to

see what health and social care was and whether actually there were other roles

that might have been more relevant to me.

I came into it with a, I come from a military program, project

manager leadership role, therefore I must do that in an NHS setting.

It would have been interesting to see if I'd volunteered for three

months, if I could have seen or maybe been inspired to do a different

career in health and social care.

I found this little book once that listed all the careers in health and

social care and there's something like 300 different roles you can do.

And, whether it's allied health professionals, of which there are 16,

who I can name as physiotherapist, speech and language there.

Or all the support roles that go around it, there's the digital side of life, NHS

digital, and all the opportunities and incredibly, interesting work that they're

doing to deliver healthcare differently through to all the clinical side.

It's very easy to look at the NHS and healthcare and think, ah, so there's

GPs, nurses, consultants, and dentists.

You forget that each one of those people has at least 15 to 20 other

roles that without which the doctors couldn't do their job anyway.

So having a program where you could come in and stand and go.

Can I meet everybody in a GP practice, understand everything they do?

Would be a really eye opener, I think, for a lot of people.

Thank you Ben for joining us to talk about Volunteer to Career.

If you're interested in getting involved in the programme, you can find out

more information at improvinglivesnw.

co.

uk.

There you'll find a list of all the current available

roles within the programme.

There's also a frequently asked questions section which may answer any queries that

you might have and the contact details to get in touch and talk to one of the team.

We'll look forward to hearing from you.

Please don't forget to subscribe, rate and review this podcast.

It all helps people find us and spread the word about volunteering.

This podcast was produced for the Norfolk Waveney Integrated Care

System by Hospital Radio Norwich.

Hosted by Sarah Briggs.

Producer was Jules Alderson.

Original music composed and performed by Philip Aldred.

Interviews by Sarah Briggs and Jules Alderson.