Community recruitment

Learning for Work provides a community recruitment programme based at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. We recruit people who are currently unemployed into specific frontline roles through a two-week pre-employment programme. 

What is the pre-employment programme?
The two-week pre-employment programme is a free training course to help you prepare to apply for a job at the Trust. The exact content will depend on the area of work you are interested in, but general topics include:
• Customer service skills
• Work ethics
• On-the-job training
• History of the NHS 

What happens at the end of the programme?
At the end of the programme you will be offered an interview. People who are already employed will also be interviewed. If you are successful at the interview, you will be offered a one-year contract that can lead to a permanent job. 

What jobs can I apply for?
We recruit for a wide range of jobs through the community recruitment programme, including:
• Administration and clerical positions
• Childcare practitioner
• Trainee nursing assistant 

How can I apply?
Most people who take part in our community recruitment programme apply through a local agency that supports unemployed people, such as JobCentre Plus or Connexions. You can also attend an introductory workshop (see below), or you can apply for certain training programmes via this website. 

• See which programmes you can apply for on this website

To read more about the organisations and agencies we work with, please see our partners section.

Does it matter where I live?
You can apply for our recruitment programme no matter where you live. However, you will need to be able to travel to our hospitals to take part in the programme or to come to work if you are successful in applying for a job.

What skills do I need?
You need to have basic maths, reading and writing skills. You should also have some understanding of the job you are applying for, and display a real commitment to working for the NHS. 

How do I find out more?
If you want to find out more about Learning for Work and our community recruitment programme, you can come to a half-day introductory workshop. For more information send an email to learningforwork@imperial.nhs.uk or leave a message including your contact details on 020 3311 7416.   

I am interested in starting a similar scheme in my NHS trust, who can I contact for advice?
For advice about setting up a similar scheme you can email Jonathan West at jonathan.west@imperial.nhs.uk.