
Job seekers are being given opportunities for roles in the NHS thanks to an innovative partnership with charity training provider Inspira.
Inspira supports employers to meet skills gaps across Cumbria and Lancashire and has linked up with two local hospital trusts to help the NHS recruit local people into vital positions. More than 21,000 people from Cumbria and Lancashire access Inspira’s services each year.
Inspira also works with employers, local economic partnerships, councils and a range of organisations across the North West to deliver comprehensive programmes, solve local skills shortages, invest in young people and help reduce unemployment numbers in targeted areas.
Working with the NHS to encourage employment

Inspira is working with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Group, to offer training for vacant domestic assistant positions in the NHS as part of its role in supporting employers in a range of sectors across the North West.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the NHS and providing people with the skills they need to secure jobs in the health service and support our communities.”
Susan Watkins, Inspira’s Area Operations Manager for Carlisle, North Cumbria and Eden
In a fast-track seven-day programme delivered over two weeks, Inspira is working with 23 applicants from across Cumbria. Job seekers from Carlisle, Wigton, Workington, Whitehaven and Penrith, are among those being coached and mentored in employability skills.
In the latest of Inspira’s highly successful pre-employment programmes, every person who completes the training – 11 are taking part in sessions in Carlisle and 12 in Workington – is guaranteed a job interview with the NHS.
“This type of partnership approach with Inspira is a great way to deliver a solution which works really well for everyone involved. Through Inspira we are able to provide job opportunities for people across our communities.
“Those recruits in turn take pride in providing a service which benefits a wide range of people who need to access our services. Thanks to everyone involved for making it such a positive collaboration for our hospital trust, our patients, and the wider community.”
Spokesperson for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Interviews for the roles with the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust took place on Thursday (July 28) and Wednesday (August 3). Interviews with Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Group took place in Workington on Wednesday (August 3) and Carlisle on Thursday (August 4).

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