We offer a range of opportunities including work experience and careers events. Applications are welcome from school and college students and members of the public who may be thinking about a change in their career. There are over 350 roles within the NHS, whatever your skills, qualifications or interests, there is a career waiting for you.
2026 Work experience applications – now closed for May, June and July
Due to high demand, we are unable to accept any further applications for May, June and July 2026.
We will open on 15 May 2026 for applications from August 2026 onwards.
For those who have already applied, you will be contacted 6 weeks prior to the placement date requested advising you of the outcome and what the next steps will be.
Work experience may include one-to-one shadowing or group experiences that may include lectures and tours of key departments with a wide range of professionals.
Placements are age restricted but can include shadowing options in administration, education, business & finance, IT & communications, catering & portering, building repair & maintenance, science, pharmacy, medicine & nursing and with allied health professions.
Due to the high demand for work experience opportunities, we may not be able to accommodate every request. However, we will work with you to keep you informed and notify you at least 6 weeks in advance if your placement is confirmed.
We have an outreach programme for careers events hosted in our hospitals and in the community at local schools, colleges and careers fairs with representatives from a range of professions in the NHS. Please feel free to email us for further information [email protected]
Eligibility
To protect younger people on the work experience placement, the trust has put in place the following age restrictions regarding placements; these restrictions are in place to safeguard all parties involved in the placement, for example, where a young person may not be able to cope with the physical or emotional elements of the placement:
- Aged from 14 years until their 16th birthday, will be restricted to placements within administrative and clerical areas only.
- Aged 16 years until their 18th birthday, will be accepted for appropriate roles within the clinical areas where patients may be present, except for the following areas: emergency departments, trauma, all theatre environments, maternity, paediatric, gynaecology, breast care and mortuaries.
- Aged 18 years plus, will be accepted for appropriate clinical roles with the Trust, following review of a risk assessment.
Duration
The work experience placement typically lasts between 1 to 2 days, with the possibility of extending up to a maximum of 10 working days. The duration is set by the department hosting the placement and is not subject to change.
Supervision
Work Experienced students must always be supervised regardless of age or role.
Placements are unpaid
Placements are unpaid and the Trust will not meet any costs of travel, subsistence, parking or accommodation.
Successful placement
Your work experience cannot take place until you have received a confirmation email from the work experience team.
Occupational Health questionnaire
When your placement is confirmed, you will be required to complete an occupational health questionnaire. The form must be completed and submitted to occupational health for review.
A further occupational health assessment may be required if you are completing an enhanced work experience programme.
Risk assessment
The trust is required to review risk assessments for each person before they start their work experience.
Work experience agreement
If you are successful with a placement, you will be required to read the work experience agreement form we will send to you. This contains essential information about work experience at our Trust. Please sign and return the agreement form before your placement date.
Induction
You will be required to participate in a virtual or face to face induction prior to your placement date.
Identification for prove of age
You will be advised to bring a photograph or scanned copy of your passport or provisional/full driving licence on day one of your placement.
Contact us
For further information on how to apply for a work experience placement please email: [email protected]
Work experience application form
Please be ready to express your reasons for applying for a placement, and if you have a member of our staff who have agreed to host you, ensure that you have their NHS email address so that we can confirm this with them.
Complete the application formAllied Health Professionals online work experience
Health Education England have joined forces with Springpod to bring students an Allied Health Professional online work-related learning programme.
The programme will provide an overview of what a career as an allied health professional can offer, as well as develop key skills for the profession. There’s also the opportunity to hear from NHS professionals, learn about their day-to-day work, as well as about the different areas of the allied health professions and complete assignments.
After finishing the placement, you’ll be given a certificate which can be useful for CVs, personal statements and interviews.
Find out more about the opportunities on the Springpod website.
We recognise that sometimes it is difficult to get work experience in a clinical setting.
Here are some other ways to gain experience and knowledge.
Online resources
There are some free online resources available that will give you a taste of what working in healthcare is all about: Brighton and Sussex Medical School has created a free virtual work experience course that explores several different medical specialities.
The University of Sheffield has produced a free online course through Future Learn called Discovering Dentistry. It looks at what dentists do and why it is important.
Volunteering
Useful volunteering websites include:
Gain insight
- The NHS Health Careers website that provides insight into different careers and specialties within the health sector
- The Medical Schools Council has lots of useful resources. This includes the values and attributes needed to study medicine, entry requirements for all medical schools in the UK, and application advice
- Newspaper pages such as the Guardian’s science page and The Telegraph’s health page
- The British Medical Journal’s open access information and their podcasts Talk Medicine and Sharp Scratch
- TED Talks via YouTube can provide useful background information on health topics
- The British Dental Journal’s open access information British Dental Journal (nature.com)
- Springpod
- trac.jobs
- Skills for Health career pathways: Pathways – HASO
- Science or health related content on social media.