The Talent Foundry confirms continued partnership with the NHS

NHS NextGen Nursing events debunk myths about nursing and encourage more men into the profession

Independent education charity, The Talent Foundry (@talent_foundry) is delighted to announce a continuation of its partnership with the NHS. Cate Smith, Head of Programmes at The Talent Foundry, has recently confirmed that the NextGen Nurse events (@NextGen_Nurse) they developed in collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement, along with Speakers for Schools, will continue over the next academic year.

The NextGen Nurse events offer students in Years 10 to 13 the opportunity to find out about the wide range of amazing opportunities that being a nurse can offer to them.  The sessions aim to dispel and debunk myths about nursing and inform young people about different career routes into the sector, and this academic year around 80 schools will take part in The Talent Foundry’s NextGen Nurse events.

After the success of the NextGen sessions held earlier in 2021, 1,895 available places were oversubscribed with 3,663 total applicants. Speakers for Schools and The Talent Foundry are sure the demand for places on next year’s sessions will be just as popular. The feedback from this year’s participants has been overwhelmingly positive too, with 94% of students considering a career in nursing after their work experience week compared to 77% before the week and 99% of attendees now feeling more confident about pursuing a career in nursing.

One of the focuses of the events is to change attitudes towards a career long stereotyped as female-dominated and to encourage more men to consider going into nursing, so that the NHS can better achieve their aim of representing the people they serve.  Across the UK, there was a 4% increase in the number of men placed onto nursing courses for 2021 but by working together The Talent Foundry and the NHS hope this figure will be even higher next year!

Elizabeth Carter, Transformation Lead, NextGen Nurse NHS England and Improvement said:

“We are delighted to work with The Talent Foundry and Speakers for Schools to deliver NextGen Nurse events.  I am passionate about promoting the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda and the breadth and depth and range of the nursing profession.  Our hope is that the students that take part will seriously consider a future in the NHS as nurses and see nursing as an aspirational career of choice and decide to join the nursing profession for a long and rewarding career.”

 Cate Smith, Head of Programmes at The Talent Foundry said:

“The Talent Foundry enjoy working closely with the NHS to deliver the fantastic NextGen Nurse events in schools. Working in nursing is a tremendously rewarding vocation and it’s positive for children to learn early on about all the different sorts of roles that are out there.  The programme has been such a success that it is being expanded so as many students as possible can benefit from the experience. “

Carly Wilkinson, Director of Programmes at Speakers for Schools said:

“We are thrilled to be working with NHS Improvement and the Talent Foundry with this fantastic opportunity to open up the world of nursing to young people from a range of backgrounds. Now more than ever, a career in nursing enables a young person to make a real difference to the lives of others.”