Transcript
You may be asking yourself "why should I apply for Gateway to Leadership? Why shouldn't I apply to the local Trust down the road?" Well, I have three main reasons for recommending joining the Gateway to Leadership programme. Firstly, it's the Gateway to Leadership's reputation. We have a track record of success. Chief Execs and Directors know that the people we source them are high quality, able leaders, so they want you in their trusts. We are therefore able to source a variety of roles in primary care trusts and acute trusts from around the country giving you the opportunity to match your skills to available jobs. And thirdly, we have designed a tailor-made programme to support you into transitioning into a senior role in the NHS. This programme gives you information on innovation and improvement, the latest healthcare thinking, all the toolkit you need to be a successful NHS manager. So, why don't you apply now?
Whre might I be based?
Finding out where you are actually going to be based for your NHS job isn’t easy as at the moment we’re contacting the NHS trusts to find the opportunities and at the moment we are selecting new Gateway participants. We don’t know where the successful participants are going to be based so we need to find out where our successful people are based and where our opportunities are. We bring those two elements together in the matching event. Now you might be lucky, you might be the successful person and there might be a job for our in your local trust 2 minutes down the road. Great. But that job might not fit your skills and interests ideally therefore the job you really want might be an hour away. Now an hour doesn’t seem unreasonable but again that depends on your personal circumstances. So where will you be based? What will you be doing? These are two things we can’t say that at the moment but when you work through the process and when you’re successful and you come to the matching day we bring the elements together and that’s when you’ll be able to find out what you’ll be doing in the NHS.
What opportunity is there for career progression?
You want to know how far you can go on Gateway to Leadership. Well the answer is as far as you are determined to go. We would like you to be our future CEOs, Directors, Assistant Directors senior figures in the NHS. We want you to bring your skills in from whichever sectors you’re coming from to improve health care for your local population. We don’t manage your career once you’re in with us. Gateway to Leadership needs to be seen as a launch pad. We offer you an introduction to the NHS through our development programme which has had excellent feedback from that you need to network, get your self up to speed with health issues, NHS issues really quickly and become a credible leader in your area so that people come to you for answers, they will come to you for leadership. Then as you progress in your competency and abilities within your area, you’ll be recognised as some who delivers and opportunities will open for you and you need to take them and move on. Mobility is always helpful so if you’re prepared to move for those opportunities then more opportunities will be available for you. So, as most employers will say, it’s up to you. You need to delivery, give what you can to the NHS and we have the opportunities there for you to take. So good luck and please apply when you can.
What is ths application process?
Well to answer you question about what job am I actually applying for when I apply to Gateway to Leadership, I’d like to explain it’s a two stage process. Firstly there is securing there a position on the process and that is a selection process we run nationally. So you make your online test, application form and if successful you come to an assessment centre and if successful there then you are invited to a matching day. When you’re at the matching day, you have a brand of quality you’ve been accepted through the selection process so CEO and Directors who come to those matching days in your local Strategic Health Authority will be guaranteed of your competencies and abilities they then will have a range of jobs in their Trust and on that day you will be able to meet them and discuss the jobs on a 1:1 basis so from that day they will be offering you an employment contract and that’s when you secure your terms and condition and start date. That hopefully explains what job and when you’ll know what job you’ll exactly be doing in the NHS.