Learning and development
We are passionate about supporting our staff to develop to their full potential.
Each hospital site has an Education Centre giving dedicated space to staff development. These include a library and fully equipped simulation skills rooms to support both clinical skills and multidisciplinary team development. An annual awards ceremony celebrates the achievements of all our staff.
Our libraries
The libraries are available 24/7 to all staff working or studying across the local health system. Providing materials and academic support, the libraries have a range of resources including books, journals, and databases. Many of these are available online via apps on smartphones or tablets, or via a laptop or desktop PC. The libraries also offer quiet spaces and access to 15 new desktop PCs on both sites, so if you are not following a programme of study or training, you can still take advantage of these calm, quiet, spaces to read emails, finalise rosters, or complete e-learning modules. We provide headsets for listening to audio content, whether that is for training and continued professional development or personal purposes.
Your development
You can expect to have an annual appraisal with a plan of personal development and access to learning and career development. Our education teams are also here to support you with advice and guidance about your development needs. As a manager you can work with these teams to provide the right support and development for your team. Development within the Trust is funded through Health Education England, Government Levy and apprenticeships. MTW also makes a significant investment in developing staff across all clinical and non-clinical staff groups, helping to build skilled teams and enabling individuals to reach their career goals.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are a key way for people to learn on the job, both for new starters to the NHS and for existing members of staff. They offer people the opportunity to gain a qualification and apply their learning while continuing to earn a salary. MTW has apprenticeship opportunities for a number of different roles and these provide an excellent opportunity if you are looking to start a career in the health service. Currently there are apprentices working in clinical support, administration and pharmacy. Many more will soon be available.
Opportunities for everyone
Programmes are designed to deliver development opportunities across all staffing groups. Over the last year we recorded over 246 different in-house learning activities such as, courses on quality improvement, time management or leadership skills; Microsoft Word and Excel skills; e-learning passes for subjects, eg, Safe Use of Insulin, or Supporting Breastfeeding, and competency assessments on various medical devices. If you are unable to find the development you need in-house, we have potential funding for external training, and in the past year we have supported more than 300 staff to access externally provided training. We have a range of activities specifically for the development of our staff at Band 4 and below, providing courses such as ESOL (English Language lessons), apprenticeships and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) in Business Administration, Management, Customer Service and Team Leading. It is always great to see the number of returners at our annual achievement ceremony who have progressed from Level 2 to Level 3 in their NVQ studies.
Exceptional Leaders
MTW is investing in the leadership of the organisation through our ‘Exceptional Leaders’ programme. The programme is aligned with the vision and values of the organisation and enables leaders to provide support to their teams and ultimately deliver excellent patient care.
