Cultivating Managers of the Future

The concrete experience of pupils and students, together with authentic and authoritative career information, are essential to allow for an educated career or vocational training choice. Such a choice is an essential part of the Government philosophy detailed in recent White Papers. The National Health Service, along with other public bodies, has lacked examples of structured student work placements to provide concrete experiences which have the potential to formally link with academic qualifications and hence provide an easing of access to further vocational development. The article charts the introduction, application and evaluation of one such structured and practical scheme. The scheme is based on the “Young Manager” package produced by Henley Distance Learning Ltd and Cambridge Training and Development and piloted by the National Health Service Training Division.