Transcript
We are now open for applications, August 2009, we are looking for people to come along and apply for the top talent programme. Now our top talent programme is superb, it is a fantastic programme and we are now looking for applications for cohorts, cohort 1 and cohort 2 are doing fantastically well in the NHS and they are all able and willing to do a fantastic job for patients, why don’t you think about joining them? Why don’t you come along, make an application and become part of our cohort 3.
What future career progression can I expect by joining the Scheme?
Breaking Through is designed to actively encourage and support people to be the best that they can be. Now the programme is basically in existence to help people to get to Director level, that is the main objective, however what we aim to do is to give people the confidence, the skills and the expertise they need to become the very, very best that they could possibly be, and sometimes that might mean becoming an Executive Director and sometimes that might mean becoming a Director or another Service Manager in the Health Service, but what we aim to do is to give people the absolute confidence in their own abilities in who they are and what they bring to the Health Services.
What kind of individuals are you looking for to join the Scheme?
The kinds of people we are looking for, for the breaking through Top Talent Programme are can-do individuals, individuals who have a belief in themselves that they can make a difference within the Health Services, people who are good at communicating, who are good at networking, who are good at talking to people, but most of all people who are absolutely passionate about improving patient care in the NHS.
We are looking for people like you, who want to make a difference to patients but also make a difference to yourself, to learn about who you are and how you come across, and to make absolutely the best use of all of those skills, so think about it and do apply.
When is the Breaking Through Conference?
Our application process has been open for a month now, and we would like many, many, many more people to apply, so why don’t you think about applying, it is September, we are open for another month or so, so do think about applying, and in addition to that, really exciting is the fact that the breaking through conference will be on the 23rd October at the Novotel in London and we will be celebrating Black History Month as part of our Conference, so why don’t you log onto the website and apply to come to the Breakthrough Conference, as well as applying to be part of our Top Talent Programme.
What can I expect from the development stages which take place in Novemeber?
The development centre and I think all development centres are designed to help support people and help people in terms of their learning, don’t let it put you off the word development centre or assessment centre which can be scary for some people, but our development centres are designed specifically to give people positive feedback about themselves and invariably people say that the development centre is an excellent part of the process which they thoroughly enjoy, so what I would say to you if you are anxious about it is, feel the fear but do it anyway.
What challenges will I face?
So, what are the challenges for the breaking through programme? Well I think there are quite a few challenges. I think first and foremost we have to make sure that people understand what we are in business to do, they have to understand what the importance of the breaking through programme is and why the NHS is investing heavily in ensuring that we have a diverse workforce at all levels. I think that Breaking Though needs the NHS to buy into it and to understand that we can make a real difference to the patients and to the populations in our country.
For the individual I think that there are lots of challenges as well, there’s the challenge of actually getting through the process and getting into the programme, but there is also the challenge of being placed in a new organisation, what that’s going to mean, functioning and performing at a higher level, people will be looking at you and to you as a member of the Top Talent Programme and making judgements about you not only as a black minority ethnic member of staff but as a participant of the Breaking Through Programme, so my feeling is that there are lots and lots of challenges not only for the programme but for the individual, which is why we are looking for the right individuals to take on that challenge and my belief is that there are many of you out there that could take on that challenge and take on that challenge exceptionally well.