Volunteer to Career
Helpforce’s award-winning Volunteer to Career™ programme supports organisations to build structured volunteering opportunities that enable people to explore healthcare careers.
It's a double win
Volunteer to Career creates a pool of experienced, motivated volunteers who may be interested in exploring careers in healthcare - often people who might previously have perceived such opportunities to be beyond reach. At the same time, the programme delivers valuable volunteer support to patients and communities, helping to ease pressure on healthcare staff.
The programme's impact has been recognised nationally, winning a 2026 Health Service Journal Partnership Award in the 'Staffing Solution of the Year' category.
Workforce wins and Volunteering wins
Helpforce has created Volunteer to Career pathways for 66 healthcare organisations, taking over 500 volunteers through the programme.
56%
of volunteers completing the programme go on to healthcare jobs, education or training.
90%
of healthcare staff say support from volunteers on the programme helps improve the quality of patient care.
42%
of participants come from ethnic minority backgrounds and 61% live in deprived areas - illustrating the programme's effectiveness at attracting diverse talent and re-enforcing NHS trusts as 'anchor organisations'.
Our approach
We take our partner organisations through a well-established development, delivery and sustainment process to ensure programmes deliver on five factors that are key to Volunteer to Career's success:
Tailoring the programme to the organisation
Clinically led
Optimum stakeholder engagement and governance
Robust career exploration
Effective community engagement
Case study
100% success rate for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Challenge
The Trust recognised that many working parents were interested in midwifery but faced challenges such as high childcare costs, making it difficult to leave paid employment to pursue training.
Helpforce's solution
Through a Helpforce-designed Volunteer to Career programme, participants were offered flexible volunteering opportunities that fitted around their existing commitments. The experience gave them valuable insight into the role, helped build new skills and confidence, and enabled them to explore opportunities for formal midwifery training.
Result
30 volunteers have gone on to train as midwives thanks to Volunteer to Career’s effectiveness at removing barriers into the profession.
By making it easier for people to explore midwifery through volunteering, the programme has enabled more individuals to consider the profession while also supporting future NHS workforce ambitions.
Watch programme participant Bailey Thompson talk about her experience.
At a time when the NHS is severely stretched and tackling long-standing and chronic workforce shortages, Helpforce is doing excellent, innovative work to support volunteers to explore opportunities for an NHS career.
Volunteer to Career in healthcare for Refugees
This programme, funded by the Rayne Foundation, helps healthcare organisations create a volunteering pathway for medically qualified refugees to potentially join the healthcare workforce.
It is part of Helpforce's wider Volunteer to Career scheme which helps people from all walks of life – regardless of professional background – explore NHS jobs through volunteering.
Collaborating with us
The scheme can help healthcare organisations of all sizes grow their local workforce. Helpforce works with ICSs, NHS trusts and other healthcare organisations to create tailored Volunteer to Career pathways.
Our extensive experience and evidence-based approach enables us to support Volunteer to Career across a wide range of healthcare settings – from NHS trusts and local hospices, to ambulance trusts and GP surgeries.
Contact us to find out more.
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