The North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and the University of East London (UEL) have launched a partnership to give healthcare students paid, flexible work in the NHS while they study. Under the scheme, students training to qualify in nursing and allied health professions can join the NELFT Staff Bank, picking up shifts around their studies and gaining experience in a range of clinical settings.

The first cohort of 24 students has already been recruited and is now being onboarded. The trust says its first recruitment event in November was very successful, with a number of students hired on the day, and that podiatry students will be brought into the staff bank next as the programme expands.

Earn while you learn

Students who join the bank receive weekly pay, paid annual leave and paid mandatory training. They also get access to the NHS Pension scheme and NHS discounts, and the chance to apply for permanent vacancies at the trust once they qualify. The idea is that students build real clinical experience and income during their course, so they are ready for the workforce on graduation.

Dr Caroline Allum, chief medical director at NELFT, said the trust was committed to supporting people at the start of their career journey. She said the partnership would help ensure the trust employs the best people to provide the best care for patients.

Matthew Almond, interim head of nursing at UEL, said the partnership would accelerate career opportunities for students as part of the university's careers-first mission. He described it as an excellent opportunity for students to gain healthcare experience and earn money while they study, ensuring they are fully workforce-ready when they graduate.

Placements across north-east London

NELFT already works with several universities to provide student nurse placements in adult, child, learning disability and mental health nursing, across inpatient rehabilitation units, community teams, health visiting and specialist services. Its placement areas cover Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest in London, as well as parts of Essex and Kent.

The new staff bank route goes further than a placement: students are paid members of the trust's temporary staffing service, working shifts that fit around lectures and study. For the trust, it is a way to grow its own future workforce at a time when NHS employers across the country are competing for newly qualified nurses and allied health professionals.

Students at UEL who are training in nursing or an allied health profession can find out more through the university and the trust's careers pages. The trust says the programme will keep growing, with more student groups joining the bank in the coming months.