Inspiring futures and expanding possibilities
By partnering with local schools and colleges, we aim to raise awareness of career options and job opportunities in the NHS.
Our new 'Aspire to be.........' work experience programmes will provide local students with a great opportunity to develop their independent working and employability skills and potentially get out of the classroom and into our Trust to have a taste of a career within the NHS. There are over 350 potential career options in healthcare. Our programmes will allow participants to learn about working in the NHS, develop new skills, learn about strengths and areas for development, increase confidence, and gain an insight into which career path to pursue.
The Inspiring Futures Team work closely with The Cheshire & Warrington Pledge to organise various opportunities and events for young people to understand more about careers in the NHS and our Trust. These include careers events, discovery sessions, mock assessments, career carousels, and virtual projects.
We offer the following programmes:
- Aspire to be a Doctor - aimed at students from local Sixth Form Schools & colleges who are studying subjects which will enable them to apply to Medical School. Applications are closed until Autumn 2025.
- Aspire to be an Allied Health Professional - aimed at students from local Sixth Form Schools & colleges who are studying subjects which will enable them to progress to University to study subjects in Podiatry, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy. This programme will open for applications in June 2025.
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Aspire to be a Nurse/Midwife – aimed at students from local Sixth Form Schools & Colleges who are studying subjects which will enable them to progress to studies/careers in Nursing/Midwifery. Applications are closed until Autumn 2025.
Please note: Placement numbers for these programmes are limited. These programmes take place over a number of weeks and involve practical sessions as well as independent working. Students who complete all elements of the programme will be considered for a face to face placement. Face to face placements are limited and dates will be agreed in line with when departments are able to support.
- Aspire to work in NHS Support roles - aimed at students who are 16 years of age and above in Year 11, 12 & 13 who are looking to undertake a career in non-clinical roles. Applications are now closed until September 2025.
Please note: Placements are limited and will be for a duration of 1 - 5 days. Placements will be based at one of our Hospitals or at Infinity House in Crewe.
Virtual Work Experience - these sessions are delivered in partnership with Speakers for Schools. Links to applications will be included in the 'How to apply' section throughout the year.
Please note:
We do not offer any face to face placements for students under the age of 16. Students under the age of 16 are more than welcome to apply for the Virtual Work Experience sessions.
We will not accept any applications or enquiries for work experience outside of the above application windows.
- Work Experience is open to students who meet the following criteria:
- Aged between 16 - 19 years of age and in Year 11, 12 or 13 at school or college. Please note our Aspire to be a Doctor, Aspire to be an AHP and Aspire to be a Nurse/Midwife are open to students in Year 12 and 13 only.
- Attend a local school or college.
- Are able to demonstrate why they want to undertake a programme with the Trust.
- Are able to demonstrate they are studying qualifications relevant to the programme they apply for.
- Virtual work experience is open to any student between the ages of 14 - 18. This is a national programme so students can apply from any school or college in the UK.
Please note:
- There will be certain points throughout the year when applications will be accepted. Application windows will be detailed on the website.
- The Inspiring Futures team will not accept applications outside of these windows or accept speculative applications/enquiries.
We are keen to provide local students with the opportunity to complete one of our programmes. Therefore, to be eligible to apply for our 'Aspire to be' programmes, we will only accept applications from the following schools/colleges:
- Alsager School
- Brine Leas School & Sixth form
- Cheshire College South & West
- Crewe Engineering & Design UTC
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School
- Malbank School & Sixth form College
- Middlewich High School
- Ruskin Community High School
- Sandbach High School & Sixth form college
- Sandbach School
- Shavington Academy
- Sir John Deane's Sixth Form College
- Sir William Stanier School
- St Nicholas Catholic High School
- St Thomas More Catholic High School
- The County High School, Leftwich
- The Oaks Academy
- Weaverham High School
- Winsford Academy
If we have spaces available on our Aspire to be a Doctor, Aspire to be an Allied Health Professional and Aspire to be a Nurse/Midwife programmes we will open these up to students who attend other schools/colleges. Please select ‘other’ in the application form when indicating which school/college you attend.
Please note: For our Aspire to work in NHS Support roles we only accept applications from the school/colleges listed.
For Virtual Work Experience, students can attend any school or college.
Aspire to be a Nurse/Midwife – Applications are now closed.
Aspire to work in support departments - Applications are now closed.
Aspire to be a Doctor Programme – Applications are now closed.
Aspire to be an Allied Health Professional – Applications will open in June 2025.
Virtual Work Experience - Applications are now closed.
Speakers for Schools Social Mobility Partner
We are partnering with Speakers for Schools, the UK’s leading social mobility charity, in our shared mission to close the opportunity gap and level-up the workplace on socioeconomic diversity – opening doors to career opportunities that were previously closed by supporting fully funded, life-changing work experience for students from state schools and colleges across the country.
