SPONSORED EDITORIAL

Have you ever considered a career in the healthcare services or are you looking to boost your skills in this industry?

Here are some good reasons why you should turn to the EKC Group’s WorkHigher programme.

With a tremendous need for healthcare jobs due to the increasing ageing population creating a greater demand in the industry, distance learning courses like the ones being offered by the EKC WorkHigher division provide an opportunity not to be missed for many.

EKC WorkHigher offers a range of learning options, from pre-employment training and apprenticeships to foundation degree and postgraduate qualifications with dedicated tutors on hand every step of the way.

Although 35 courses on offer are not exclusive to just health, health and social care is a rapidly expanding industry with a huge demand for positions across its vast spectrum.

The distance learning courses were initially designated only for health and social care but quickly grew in stature prompting an expansion into other areas such business administration, customer service, hospitality and retail.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AVAILABLE EKC WORKHIGHER COURSES

“There is a big demand for healthcare workers and nurses especially for employment in areas such as care homes and schools,” said EKCWorkHigher Distance Learning Co-ordinator Sharon Ventin.

“There are also other courses relating to health such as customer service, awareness of mental health problems, understanding common childhood illnesses, hospitality as well as safeguarding and data protection to infection control and safe handling of medicines.”

The most recent government figures confirm that the health sector continues to be a booming industry.

According to government figures, employment in the National Health Service (NHS) has steadily increased in the last five years,

A total of 1.66 million people were employed in the NHS (31.1% of all people employed in the public sector) in 2018 and that number has been steadily increasing in the last five years.

Numbers for March 2018 showed 1,227,375 full time equivalent (FTE) staff working for the NHS, an increase of 19,791 (1.6 per cent) since March 2017.

A total of 126,446 FTE staff were working in general practice, an increase of 1,540 (1.2 per cent), in those same statistics.

In addition, there were 46,364 FTE staff working for independent healthcare providers in March 2018, based on those organisations that provided data.

“The distance learning course is for adult learners aged 19 and over and is only for people living legally in the UK legally, born in the UK or born in the EU”, continued Sharon.

“Last September saw a big influx of learners and, as a result, we were forced to take on 16 more staff members.”

“The apprenticeship service can be for learners who are employed or unemployed and qualifications are approved and recognised at national level.

“The courses generally span around eight weeks but can also be longer depending on the individual circumstances of some of the learners.”

Apprenticeships are a huge part of the EKC Group and have delivered thousands of high quality opportunities over the past few years to students and distance learners.

The EKC Group aspires to play a leading role for East Kent in developing the economic and social prosperity of the local communities it serves. There are EKC Group colleges and campuses in Broadstairs, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone, Sheppey.