Employment Academy for the healthcare sector in Lothian: good practice report

Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian (SEEL) worked in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council, among others, to develop the Health Care Academy, the aim of which was to provide demand-led employment and training opportunities for targeted excluded groups and match individuals with vacancies in the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). The evaluation was not intended to be comprehensive, but to provide an insight into what worked, what proved difficult and what might be done differently in future.

Managers, tutors and participants involved in the Health Care Academy took part in a half day facilitated workshop where views were gathered on the successes and difficulties of the approach taken at the Academy.

Participants identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Academy’s approach. Strengths included the commitment of partner organisations, the use of a college training provider and the use of a dedicated worker on job-matching. Weaknesses included the unsuitable premises, certain elements of the administration of the programme and difficult transitions from the course to employment.

The evaluation highlighted ‘top tips for success’ as well as common problems to watch out for. Recommendations centred around staffing, clarity of purpose, financial management, the employment agency used, and recruitment and selection processes. Warnings were made in relation to time and effort needed, the importance of targets and good monitoring procedures, balancing supply and demand, recognising the individual life circumstances of participants, and competition between employment agencies.