Seven key skills for NHS management trainees

Each Friday, UHL Chief Executive, Richard Mitchell, hosts a live-streamed conversation with guests from across our workforce. Last Friday, he was joined by our Leadership and Management Trainees, Sanaa, Matt, Abbigail and Michalina, alongside Chief People Officer, Clare Teeney.

The Leadership and Management Trainee scheme at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust lasts for 24 months. Through the placements, trainees develop:

? project and financial management,

? planning and organisation of services,

? analysis of complex data to inform decision making,

? service and quality improvement,

? managing people and teams,

? leadership and

? change management.

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Our trainees have real responsibility from day one but are supported to learn on the job.

Michalina, who is originally from Norwich, studied Business Management and HR De Montfort University and knew she wanted to do a graduate programme: “graduate programmes open a lot more doors and give you the opportunity to grow." So far she has supported the roll-out of technologies to support our busy urgent and emergency care services. "You do a job, but it’s a learning space, we are encouraged to seek out opportunities, shadowing and mini-placements – you can get so much out of it and create whatever you want from this kind of opportunity.”

Sanaa was also a recent graduate of De Montfort University having completed a degree in Business Management and Economics. She discovered the UHL graduate programme through a showcase on campus that she was supporting as a staff member. Sanaa has been actively involved in the development of our health inequalities programme, she said: “Getting future leaders educated is key to reducing health inequalities. Teaching us will help to teach the wider workforce in time.”

Matt, originally from Lincoln is a History graduate and a former Domestic Manager at UHL. Having seen an advert on the Trust intranet, he decided to explore further professional development. His projects so far have included supporting oxygen management during a shortage that was impacting the whole NHS. He said: “The graduate scheme helps to build the future of this organisation but at the same time you are developing experience and knowledge for your own development.”

Abbigail is a registered critical care nurse. She wanted to see how the decisions and plans she was asked to implement as a nurse came to pass and why. As part of the programme she has been involved in a variety of programmes including moving a service to a new site: “The sky is the limit, every experience is a learning experience. You might not think you have anything to bring to the table, but you do.”

If you’re headed into your final year and thinking about what you’ll do after graduation, mark your calendars for May next year and apply to be a Leadership Management Trainee at UHL from September 2024.