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Allied Health Professions (AHP) Careers Awareness Toolkit
The allied health professions (AHP) Careers Awareness Toolkit has been developed as a single point of access to information and resources aimed at promoting allied heath careers. It is aimed at our existing workforce and careers ambassadors, to support those aspiring to work in health and social care.
Profession specific resources for anyone aspiring to work in health and social care can be accessed via the NHS Careers site.
This toolkit consists of links to webpages, interactive resources, videos, podcasts, documents, and national events relating to the promotion of all allied heath profession careers. The final document at the bottom of the page entitled ‘Careers Directory’ contains details of profession specific events and external websites. The toolkit can be used in conjunction with the quick guide to Allied Health Professional Careers Awareness. This is available as part of the stimulate demand quick guide boxset which also includes a quick guide to work experience and a quick guide to volunteering available on our stimulate demand webpage.
Health Education England has worked with the University of Winchester to explore Allied Health Professions (AHP) career choices. Commenced in 2021, a study was codesigned and implemented with the support physiotherapy students on leadership placements during the covid 19 pandemic.
An online questionnaire was disseminated to current AHP students in England (undergraduate and pre-registration postgraduate) for four weeks between February and March 2021. The aim was to explore and understand key motivations, sources of influence and barriers to choosing their specific profession.
The information and findings from the questionnaire have been used to create profession specific factsheets to help shape targeted careers information and guidance. The factsheets can be accessed here.
Below are some key events that take place throughout the year providing targeted opportunities to showcase AHP careers
Allied Health Professions (AHPs) day - NHS England
Health Careers Live - Health Careers. You can access all the AHP Live Stage sessions via the Health Careers Live YouTube channel (add link)
National Careers Week - Nat West Group
What Career - NHS Careers
Step Into the NHS – Primary School Teacher Resources
This interactive resource introduces young people and their teachers to 15 ‘AHPs like me’ positively promoting people with a range of unique, individual characteristics and to challenge gender profession stereotypes.
Each AHP shares something about what they do in their role, relating skills to hobbies and interests. There is also a short quiz activity for children to check their knowledge and learning. The resource promotes exploration of careers by sharing a range of different skills and interests.
The tool enables children to learn about activities in life, outside of school, to think about what they might like to do linked to personal choices, values and future direction.
In order to increase awareness of Allied Health Profession (AHP) careers in school aged children, Health Education England have worked in partnership with the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) and Forum Talent Potential to fund and support a project which provides real life context to learning.
The aim of the project was to support teachers in primary and secondary schools to develop curriculum projects that integrate AHP careers learning into the curriculum. This was achieved by:
- Using subject curriculum requirements as the driver, and AHPs as the underpinning context.
- Teachers and AHPs co-creating curriculum content to enable children to connect what they are studying in the classroom to the world of work.
In order to bring the learning to life, a six step approach was used. The online toolkit that details the approach is free, and can be accessed by teachers and employers.
The project has produced exemplar case studies that every school in the country can use, which can be found on the Forum Talent Potential website. These case studies show the innovative, exciting and engaging ways in which Allied Health Careers can be integrated into the delivery of curriculum objectives.
The benefits of this approach extend to the students, the school and the profession or employer.
A KS3 Student, learning about electricity and how to safely use defibrillators: “I want to be a paramedic now, but would need to learn more first”
A KS3 English Teacher, about a ‘speaking and listening’ task to encourage children to comply with treatment for an eye condition “Having a real life problem to solve helped the students to engage in the task. At the time of the project, the NHS was at the forefront of students’ minds….which added to the student engagement”
HEE is using the latest immersive 360-degree virtual reality technology to give potential recruits a vivid insight into a day in the life of the AHP professions. These films have been created to show a typical day in the lift of a podiatrist, orthoptist, prosthetist and orthotist and therapeutic radiography professionals.
Links:
E-Learning for Health Allied Health Professions Careers - This interactive resource provides stepping stones for everyone considering an AHP career, no matter what the starting point. It provides information for people exploring AHP careers or those supporting them.
NHS England - the 14 Allied Health Professions - Find out more about the 14 allied health professions
AHP Student Stories - Hear from student AHPs from the Council of Deans for Health 150 Leaders Programme, about what influenced and inspired them to choose their course
Careers in the NHS - Education & Employers ‘I Could’ video case studies that explore real life careers, a careers quiz which matches personality with career choices, and teaching resources
Talent for Care - widening participation into health careers and recruiting from local community - Case studies and supporting information relating to apprenticeship pathways that enable people to Get Ready, Get In, Get On and Go Further towards a career of their choice
Health Careers - Find out more about the crucial role AHPs play in helping people live their lives as fully as possible
Inspiring the Future - Explore careers with real life stories, advice and guides with ‘iCould’, including the Buzz Quiz to find out what careers might suit
Medic Portal - AHP resources on the Medic Portal give people interested in a career in medicine an awareness of other professions that might be of interest
AHP Career Information - A graphic overview with links to AHP career awareness resources on the Health Careers website has been developed. This is for school teachers, college tutors, AHP ambassadors and anyone helping those interested in an AHP career.
Step into the NHS - A teachers guide available for ready-made lesson plans and information on how to introduce meaningful career-related learning to your students. This is resource is aimed at Secondary school teachers.
The WoW Show - Showcasing AHP roles to young people via The WoW Show. This is a fast-moving interactive online magazine, aims to give young people fresh perspectives on the world of work. Watch all the videos from the WoW show.
Therapeutic Radiographer and Podiatrist Career Guides - Watch our two exciting new WOW Show programmes about careers in the NHS, focussing on careers as a Therapeutic Radiographer and a Podiatrist. These videos are supported by a special package of materials authored by VotesforSchools in collaboration with the Society of Radiographers and College of Podiatry.
Video spotlight
The WOW Show – 20-minute programme
AHPs’ roles in mental health – Art Psychotherapist