EMPLOYER GUIDE TO INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS Health Occupational Specialism: Supporting the Adult Nursing Team
Thank you for your consideration in providing an Industry Placement opportunity for our students. Industry placements give young people studying towards a T Level technical qualification valuable practical experience, helping to prepare them for the workplace. Employers like you are helping to grow the talent of our future workforce by developing their technical and employability skills and building their confidence.
This guide will provide valuable information on the Placement process including: • Taking the first step • Who, what, how, why and when • Creating a job description • Selecting the right candidate to meet your needs • Grofar • Setting learning objectives • Support throughout the placement • Expectations and responsibilities
Taking the first step You may be concerned that the process of setting up an Industry Placement is complicated and time consuming but this simply isn’t the case. You will be assigned a dedicated Work Placement Officer (WPO) to guide you through the whole process and can be as involved in the selection process as you want to be. The first step would be for one of our WPO’s to get in touch to: • Discuss your business needs • Confirm health & safety responsibilities • Agree a placement schedule of dates • Outline the job description • Introduce you to Grofar, our interactive digital placement platform
The who, what, how, why and when? Who are the students we are placing: • Primarily 16 –18 year-olds, living in and around the Harlow area • Studying T Level in Health (at Level 3, equivalent to A Levels) • Skilled with the basic knowledge of caring for adults, assisting with clinical and therapeutic tasks, supporting individuals to meet daily activities and understanding relevant legislations, infection control and safeguarding • Pursuing a career in adult nursing, midwifery or healthcare • Looking to progress to an Apprenticeship or University
What should students experience on their placement: • Work as part of an adult healthcare team to assist registered professionals to undertake a range of physiological measurements such as blood pressure, urine output, body temperature and blood sugars, and help assess skin integrity and treat skin conditions • Practice effective infection control and use correct PPE • Support individuals to meet activities of daily living such as nutrition and hydration, moving and positioning, and maintaining mobility
• Apply knowledge and skills in an adult care environment and interact with patients to contribute to their overall comfort and wellbeing • Work with a multidisciplinary team to understand roles and responsibilities • Understand how to use and maintain medical equipment such as tympanic thermometers, pulse oximeters, glucometer and hoists • Record details of monitoring an individual’s condition, maintaining confidentiality at all times • Working with others with different skills, expertise and experience
How have Harlow College prepared the learner for work readiness: • Growing wider employability skills and workplace behaviours throughout the course curriculum • Developing technical skills through practical tasks • Facilitating varied employer encounters throughout the course curriculum • Providing careers information, advice and guidance
Why this benefits you as an employer:
Creating a job description
• Extra resources for your projects and day-to-day operations
Defining the placement role will help ensure we match you with a student who has the right skills, development needs and career aspirations to suit your business need. Our Work Placement team will work with you to create a bespoke job description that will include:
• Addresses current and future skills shortages in your industry by growing your own workforce • Fresh ideas from young people • Inspiring the next generation to work in your industry • Strengthen your recruiting pipeline and increase diversity • Give your employees the opportunity to develop management and mentoring skills • Support the vision of becoming a learning organisation, build brand value and corporate reputation For all industry placements starting before 31 July 2022, an employer may receive up to £1,000 per placement. (Terms and conditions apply)
When does the placement take place: • 315 hours (approximately 9 weeks) during the two year course • Hours can be in a block or spread throughout the year • Placement can be split between two employers • Schedule can be shaped to meet employer needs
• Objective of the role • Typical activities • Prior skills and knowledge required • Technical skills development opportunities
Selecting the right candidate to meet your needs We can be as flexible as required when helping you select your candidate. You may wish to shortlist and interview several students or it may suit you to be less hands on and leave us to match the right student to the role. We can also arrange for short ‘taster’ placements if you wanted to work with a student prior to agreeing a longer placement. Either way, we will manage the process efficiently and with the minimum of fuss.
Grofar Grofar is an Industry Placement management platform that allows us to plan, track and assess placements simply and efficiently. As a placement provider you will also have access to the system which will allow you to: • Receive clear communications and directions for delivering work placements • Save time by responding to College requests for information through simple e-forms • Submit all applications and supply Health & Safety documents online • Validate all student hours weekly using a simple online form • Engage more with the work placement process Your designated WPO will guide you through the simple set up process and explain the functions of Grofar.
Setting learning objectives We will work with you to align the role to the learning objectives the student is required in order to achieve their performance outcomes. The following table identifies the skills and knowledge that students are expected to achieve through their occupational specialism. Please refer to the table on the next spread.
Occupational Specialism: Supporting the Adult Nursing Team Performance outcome
Knowledge acquisition
Skills acquisition • Adhere to current legal policy and service frameworks when assisting with delegated clinical skills for adults
• Guidelines, policy and service frameworks for adults Assist the adult nursing team with clinical tasks
• Routine clinical skills most relevant for adults • Moving and handling adults • Equipment, resources and environment used in clinical skills for adults
• Demonstrate the ability to carry out clinical skills for individuals including clinical assessments and report findings • Support risk assessments for adults and escalate where appropriate • Demonstrate safe practice when moving and/or positioning the individual for treatment or to complete clinical skills using appropriate moving and handling aids • Monitor and maintain the environment, equipment and resources when assisting with clinical skills for individuals • Demonstrate the ability to perform first line calibration on clinical equipment
• Apply knowledge of skin physiology and pathophysiology when assisting with skin integrity assessments and the care and treatment of skin conditions
Assist with skin integrity assessments and with the care and treatment of skin conditions
• Skin physiology and pathophysiology • Skin integrity assessments • Treatment of skin conditions
• Check skin integrity using appropriate assessment documentation and inform others • Demonstrate the ability to provide the appropriate care to reduce the risk of pressure ulcers developing or deteriorating and record interventions • Undertake and record interventions to treat and prevent skin conditions in line with their responsibilities • Demonstrate the ability to advise and discuss with both individuals and carers about how to prevent pressure injuries
Performance outcome
Knowledge acquisition
Skills acquisition • Support or enable individuals to maintain good nutrition and hydration and record details • Support or enable individuals to maintain continence • Support or enable individuals to maintain good personal hygiene • Support or enable individuals to dress and undress • Support or enable individuals to be mobile • Support or enable individuals to rest, sleep, and keep safe
Support individuals to meet activities of daily living
• Activities of daily living • Role of carers in meeting the needs of adults
• Support or enable individuals to express their sexuality • Appropriately manage situations in which individuals cannot do things for themselves • Support individuals to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing when advising and informing them in managing their condition • Demonstrate the ability to advise and discuss with carers how to support individuals on managing their own conditions • Provide appropriate care that helps individuals with advanced, progressive, and life limiting conditions to live as well as possible
Support throughout the placement The College will provide support throughout the placement for you the employer, as well as the student. Your designated WPO is always available to answer any questions or discuss progress. Attendance and progress is recorded and monitored through Grofar, our digital placement platform which will also provide a direct communication channel to flag any concerns. During the placement the College will complete two monitoring visits at a time convenient to you. This is an opportunity to review the progress being made towards completing the agreed learning objectives. Once the placement is completed there will be an opportunity to evaluate the experience and hopefully plan your next Industry Placement!
The first step ... Hopefully, you are now ready to take the first step to providing an Industry Placement. To proceed, or if you have any questions, please contact our WPO team who are waiting to help. Email: WPO@harlow-college.ac.uk
Email us Call: 01279 868245
Call: 01279 868254 Mobile: 07827 838921
Mobile: 07827 838921