A key objective of the MRP Community Benefits Programme is to work with our local schools to create opportunities to give young people the skills to achieve success and to provide NHS Lanarkshire with potential future employees.
Working with council education colleagues, the MRP has developed a Summer School programme to give s4-s6 pupils in our local communities the chance to engage with us and gain real-life employment experience and skills to help them make future career decisions.
This will be the third year of this successful programme. We’ve taken a different focus every year, with 2023 on design and 2024 on facilities management – the people who make our buildings work.Our 2025 Summer School will focus on engineering and be led by industry professionals Wallace Whittle, who form part of the MRP technical design team. They’ll share expert knowledge and information about a career in engineering in the healthcare environment and beyond.
Our aim in Summer School is for the pupils to have a week that is enjoyable, inspires, builds workplace confidence and provides a taster of a career pathway that will enable them to be more informed in making decisions about their future.
Previous attendees have found the Summer School an enjoyable and beneficial experience. Here, they explain how it has helped shape their career aspirations and why they think others would enjoy the experience.
Laya Caldwell, S5 Chryston High School:
“I attended the MRP Summer School in August 2023. The focus that year was on design. I had previously been part of a design process when my school, Chryston Primary, was being redeveloped. I think I’m a creative person, and was thinking of a career in design or architecture. The Summer School was a great opportunity to gain further experience of the design process, learning from the MRP design team.”
“I loved meeting the other Summer School pupils to collaborate with on this exciting project and having the opportunity to gain experience and creatively respond to a real-life design brief. I learned vital life skills, that are transferrable to many careers such as communication, team work, public speaking, adaptability and problem solving. This has let me further my aspirations for a career in architecture.”
“The whole experience has led me on a pathway of becoming an architect. I have received an unconditional offer to study interior design at HND level, which means I can apply for second year of architecture studies at university.”
“Summer School was an exciting experience and since I thoroughly enjoy being creative, those three hours every morning got me up and productive first thing, leaving the rest of my day for other social pursuits.”
“I would definitely recommend this incredible opportunity to anyone wishing to gain experience and insight into the world of work for their future career aspirations.”
Sophie White, S5 Trinity High School:
“I attended the MRP Summer School in July 2024. The focus of the Summer School was on facilities management – the people who make healthcare buildings work, and their roles. I thought that attending Summer School would give me the opportunity to see how a hospital works and the different aspects of how it functions.”
“I really enjoyed learning about all the different roles within a hospital and healthcare and how they contribute to the safe care of patients. I learned that a hospital is much more than doctors and nurses – everyone contributes to care.”
“Before starting I was dreading getting up early during the summer holidays but I really enjoyed every different thing we learned, which made it easier to want to get up and go every day. I’ve always had my head set on mental health nursing – still have –but this adventure was different and has let me consider the different opportunities in the hospital and healthcare.”
“I recommend attending this programme as it is something really educational and there is definitely something in this programme you will take away with you. It made me realise there are a lot of different types of work within hospitals. “
Last year’s Summer School
Summer School 2025
Monday 28 July to Friday 1 August, five half-day sessions
MRP Community Benefits Programme is offering an exciting development experience for s4-s6 pupils with an interest in a career in engineering. The week-long summer school is an innovative programme, led by members of the MRP engineering design team and supported by NHS Lanarkshire colleagues and will provide an insight into the breadth of careers in engineering within construction, healthcare and other industries.
Pupils will spend the week working within our hi-tech Immersive Suite at University Hospital Monklands. They will be provided with an engineering challenge and the opportunity to develop their response in interactive sessions which will culminate in a short presentation of their solutions to members of the MRP Team.
Transport available by pre-arrangement from a central point in South Lanarkshire.
Commitment to daily attendance is necessary
Email: mrp.team@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk
Phone: 01698 752320
