Hospitals back work scheme for homeless

The Ready for Work programme operates with local businesses and other agencies to provide training and placements to homeless people to help them into work.

Over the last six months, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has taken on three people from the programme on placements.

The trust's head of training, Amanda Hudson, said: "Bradford Hospitals has a long history of providing work-related activities and work experience placements to assist with increasing and widening future recruitment into the NHS.

"It is important that we have a workforce which reflects the community that we serve and being involved with this scheme helps us to reach people who may not have previously considered a career in the NHS."

The programme works with a variety of people who have been homeless or at risk of homelessness. They include those who have lost their homes through financial difficulties after redundancy, victims of domestic violence, former servicemen and women and people who have suffered through relationship breakdowns.

The scheme is run by Bradford & Bingley, with support from Bradford Council, on behalf of Business Action on Homelessness, a campaign led by Business in the Community.

Vicky Ing, Ready for Work programme manager for Bradford and Bingley, said: "Feedback from our clients at the hospital has been very positive. The placements have given each person the opportunity to develop transferable skills to improve their chances of finding work, and their confidence has soared as a result.

"One is currently looking for a job in the catering industry, another is pursuing higher education and part-time work, while the third is actively pursuing a career in retail."