Work experience

What is work experience?

Work experience allows people to experience what it’s like to undertake a job supervised by staff who already work in the environment.

Work experience can vary from ‘tasters’ which last just half a day through to programmes that last a week. Some work experience placements offer a hands-on experience, while some provide insights through conversations and observation. All can provide a valuable experience for people looking to move into a clinical or non-clinical career in the health sector.

Work experience, our other offers and who can apply

Please see our matrix below showing the different ways we can support you and please check that you qualify. All applicants must be either living or studying in Dorset.

Benefits to you

It is a chance for you to find out a little more about the work that we do and this could potentially open a door into the healthcare service for you.You will meet new people and come across new and unfamiliar situations.Visitors really enjoy their work experience and find it allows them to further explore into roles that may interest them, which may in turn lead them to apply for vacant roles we have or directs them onto the correct study path.

How to apply for work experience?

We are a large Trust with several hundred sites across Dorset. Please apply directly to the site or department that you are interested in either via email or post, using the contact name and details provided in our contact us page.

Please ensure that you include the dates you wish to be there and your contact details so that they are able to let you know the outcome of their decision. If they are happy to support this they will then send you the application form to complete. Please be aware we can only accept a limited number of students per year. Placements are dependent on the services agreeing and the needs of the service will be prioritised, therefore we cannot always guarantee a placement. We will require at least eight weeks’ notice to arrange placements.

NHS career open evenings

We host evenings where anyone can come along and speak to a large number of professionals in a wide range of services to really get some good advice about roles they might be thinking of going into.

Information about these will be circulated to schools and colleges as usual and all information regarding upcoming events will feature on this page.

Experience: NHS Programmes

These two to four-day programmes are available for Year 12 students to apply for throughout the year and give an introduction and insight into the NHS as well as specific career paths within the organisation. Annually, we currently have:

• Experience: Psychiatry
• Experience: Nursing.

We are developing new programmes throughout the year including allied health professions, IT and psychological professions.

Phone conversations

If you are unable to attend our NHS Careers open evening then another option might be speaking to someone within the Trust that works in a particular role thatmay be able to help with some advice about what the job is like and the qualifications etc. To request this please email dhc.work.experience@nhs.net and we will try to assist you.

School visits/mock interviews

Our team regularly supports school events, working closely with careers advisors in the area as well as the NHS Dorset team who co-ordinate much of our educational engagement across the Integrated Care System.

If you would like us to interact with your school or learning provider please get in touch with us at dhc.work.experience@nhs.net