Hospital project’s Summer School just the job for young students

Posted: August 08, 2024

Eager pupils went “back to school” before the end of the holidays to find out about NHS Lanarkshire’s exciting project to create the new University Hospital Monklands.

Eight school students from North and South Lanarkshire attended the second Summer School run by the Monklands Replacement Project (MRP) last week (w/b 29 July).

Interested to learn about future job roles at the new hospital at Wester Moffat in Airdrie, the group of Fourth and Fifth Years came from St Aidan’s High in Wishaw, St Ambrose High in Coatbridge and Trinity High in Rutherglen.

The event was spearheaded by the team behind the project’s Community Benefits programme, which includes skills training, apprenticeships and job opportunities.

Lesley Aitken, MRP Community Benefits Engagement Lead, said:

“The commitment of the young people to attending Summer School on five mornings of their holiday was inspiring, and they approached their challenges with enthusiasm and real fervour to do a good job.”
“Summer School 2024 was focused on facilities management, which includes various NHS Lanarkshire jobs such as building maintenance, domestic services and estates management.”
“We gave the students a tour around University Hospital Monklands and showed them how important facilities management is in the safe delivery of patient care.”
“Then they were given a task – to come up with a response to a flood in the hospital. They had to use the information from the tour and speak to our staff before designing storyboards with their solutions that were presented to an audience of our colleagues.”
“The young people also took part in a session to hone their employability skills. They were a real credit to themselves, their families and their schools.”
“We also had fantastic support from our site colleagues in facilities management, who gave up their time and expertise to help. Thanks must also go to the councils’ education departments and to Developing the Young Workforce in Lanarkshire.”

The MRP Community Benefits programme forms part of NHS Lanarkshire’s work as an Anchor Organisation – a large, local employer that can have a strong and positive influence on the health and wellbeing of its communities.

Comments from some of the Students

Olivia Holmes, S5, Trinity High, said:

“I found this week useful. A good bit was the tour and seeing how everything works and everything around the hospital – the systems and all the things they need to go through.”
“I’d really like to do something around construction or engineering – my plan would be to get a Modern Apprenticeship or go through college.”
“I think the NHS would be a good option because of the new hospital they’re building – there’ll be lots of job opportunities.”

Malina Korzeniowska, S4, St Ambrose High, said:

“I take design & manufacture at school and I just felt like the whole course was quite related to it and would be really good for my CV.”
“It’s been really interesting – there’s a lot of things we were shown that I wasn’t expecting to be here. I was thinking of studying engineering at university and I think this is really great as work experience.”

Fergus Miller, S5, St Aidan’s High, said:

“I’d like to maybe do something with engineering or design, so Summer School has been good.”
“I’ve learned a bit about different jobs in the hospital that I didn’t really know about and had lots of communication with my peers. I’d definitely recommend it, for communication skills for your CV.”

Tadala Tchete, S4, St Ambrose High, said:

“I found out about it in school and I just wanted to try it out because I do fancy working as a nurse or a doctor.”
“I especially enjoyed the visit to the operating theatres because that’s the kind of place I would want to be, helping patients and interacting with them.”

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