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Skills Boost for Healthcare (NHS)

  • Start date:   May 2025
  • Level of Qualification:   SCQF Level 5
  • Course Type:   Short Full-time

Skills Boost for Healthcare (NHS)

Please note: The closing date to apply to this course is at midnight on Monday, 24 March.

Skills Boost for Healthcare is an exciting course that has been developed in partnership with NHS Lothian and West Lothian College. Together, we are working to provide education and employment for people in West Lothian and beyond and could be the start of a very exciting career as there are several different progression routes within NHS Lothian.

Start date: Monday, 18 May 2025

This course is free and is available to anyone who is over the age of 16- Please note that during the three-week course, you are not an employee at NHS Lothian and will not be paid during the course or be entitled to a bursary from the college. 

If you do receive universal credit you will continue to do so for the course duration, and you will only begin to be paid when you start working on the ward for NHS Lothian.  

Please complete the college application form if you are interested in starting or re-starting your career as a health care support worker.

Your interview is an interview for the college course and a trainee healthcare support worker job with NHS Lothian. If you are successful, you must attend the three-week college course starting on Monday 18th May 2025.

Upon successful completion of the course and all compulsory NHS checks such as satisfactory PVG with disclosure Scotland and Occupation Health report, you will start your exciting new career.

The start date will depend on the candidate's ability to complete all previously mentioned checks as quickly as possible.

We will try and start you as soon as possible but delays may occur when applicants do not submit all the required paperwork.

Further Information

You must complete the NHS application and background checks within the set time frame, or the provisional job offer will be cancelled. 

Throughout the three weeks of the course, you must adhere to the West Lothian College Student Respect Policy and Attendance and Fitness to Study Policy or progression to employment will not be possible. 

  • What the course includes

     College Course Content  

    • Safe beginners for health and care - Professionalism, reflection, legislation
    • Infection control
    • Health and Safety
    • Personal Care
    • Dementia
    • First Aid
    • Career pathways

    NHS Lothian Course Content

    • Basic Life Support
    • Equality Diversity and Rights
    • Fire Safety Awareness
    • HAI
    • Health and Safety
    • Information Governance
    • Management of Aggression
    • Public Protection
    • Manual handling

Why choose this course

These are full-time vacancies and will require you to work 37.5 hours per week.  

The Hospital location that currently have vacancies for this cohort is St John’s Hospital Livingston. It is anticipated that all trainees will be placed in adult areas at the St John’s Hospital site and will be working 12.5-hour shifts across days, nights, weekends and public holidays.

What will my role as a Trainee Band 3 look like?

Trainee Band 3s will follow the Band 3 Job Description (JD) please see the attached document here for more details.

This course will be the start of your learning journey, and your new job will provide you with a pathway to a career in health care.  

The first two weeks will be based at West Lothian College in Livingston.

The third week may require attendance at St John’s Hospital or at the Comely Bank Centre beside the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. In addition there maybe a requirement to have an online class via Teams.

Entry requirements

This course is free and is available to anyone who is over the age of 16.

Candidates must provide:

  • Two valid forms of ID (one photo ID and one proof of address, e.g., driver's license, passport, or Young Scot card)

  • Two referees (not friends or family members) for reference checks

All applicants must have the right to work full-time in the UK. Unfortunately, due to visa restrictions, international students with a 20-hour work limit per week will not be eligible. NHS Lothian is unable to offer sponsorship for this workstream.

  • Nursing student in the classroom

    Where it leads

    Candidates who successfully pass the interview stage will be given a provisional job offer with NHS Lothian as a trainee band 3 Health Care Support Worker.

    Please remember while you are applying for this course, you are also applying for a job, and it will help your application if you expand on what motivated you to apply for this job and course. If you have been referred to this job and course through the Department of Work & Pensions, please quote reference number DWP2025 beside your name.

Interview Arrangements

Interviews will be held on the April, 7 & 8, 2025 at the NHS Comely Bank Centre in Edinburgh.

You will be interviewed by a member of NHS Lothian and a college staff member.

You will have to provide two valid forms of ID during the interview one must have a photo, and one must have your address (driver's licence/passport/young scot card). You will also have to provide two referees that we can contact (this can't be a friend or family member).

If you are not selected for interview or successful at interview you will not be offered a place on the course.  

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Take that next step in your career and apply for this course today. If the course is not yet open for applications, feel free to ask any questions by clicking make an enquiry.

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