Helpforce's pioneering 'Volunteer to Career' initiative shortlisted for prestigious national awards
15th December 2025
The ‘Volunteer to Career’ programme, developed by Helpforce, has supported hundreds of people from all walks of life to secure permanent roles including healthcare assistants, mental health support workers and assistant physiotherapists – against a backdrop of severe NHS workforce shortages.
In recognition of the scheme’s impact, Helpforce has been shortlisted for a 2026 HSJ Partnership Award in the ‘Staffing Solution of the Year’ category. The highly regarded awards celebrate outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS.
Welcoming the news, Amerjit Chohan, Helpforce Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to be shortlisted for the HSJ Partnership Awards 2026. Not only is this a significant acknowledgement of our charity's efforts in supporting the NHS, but it is also a testament to the value of healthcare volunteering.
“The success of our Volunteer to Career programme to date has been significant. Together with our partners in over 48 NHS Trusts and other organisations, we’ve helped people who are interested in healthcare careers but don’t have a background in the field to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles.
“Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews.
“Since we launched the initiative in 2022, hundreds of people have taken part, with 55% of them successfully transitioning from volunteering roles to paid careers in healthcare or associated courses - such as in nursing and midwifery.”
Currently, around 107,000 NHS secondary care roles in England are vacant[i] and the annual cost of using agency and bank staff - who do additional shifts at their own or a nearby hospital to earn extra money - has risen to more than £10 billion[ii].
Not only does the Volunteer to Career programme help tackle acute frontline NHS workforce shortages and burnout, it also addresses the challenge of encouraging people who aren’t in jobs - either through choice or circumstance - to re-enter the workforce, with an estimated 9.3 million people aged 16-64 in the UK deemed economically inactive.
It also supports a key objective of the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan: to train more NHS staff domestically, reducing reliance on international recruitment and agency staff - with an ambition that in 15 years’ time around10.5% of the NHS workforce will be recruited from overseas, compared to nearly a quarter now.
Among those who’ve moved into to paid employment through Volunteer to Career are mothers who’ve taken time away from their careers to raise children, members of the armed forces community, and refugees.
Helpforce’s analysis of Volunteer to Career suggests significant benefits for NHS budgets, existing NHS staff, patients and local communities:
- 82% of healthcare staff said volunteers improved their working lives, while 90% reported that working alongside volunteers improved the quality of service they could provide.
- Individual trusts reported substantial cost efficiencies. For example, West London NHS Trust calculated that recruiting just three Band 4 medical staff from the Volunteer to Career programme, versus employing bank staff, resulted in a £46,800 annual saving.
- Each volunteer supported an average of 190 people.
Winners of the HSJ Partnership Awards, which attracted over 240 entries, will be announced during a ceremony on 19th March 2026 at Evolution London.
For more information on Helpforce’s Volunteer to Career programme click here.
Notes:
For more information relating to Helpforce please contact Vy Tran, Communications Manager, at vt@helpforce.community or tel: 07508 722844
For more information regarding the 2026 HSJ Partnership Awards, please contact Rebecca Bright on rebecca.bright@hsj.co.uk or tel: 020 7608 9056.
ABOUT THE HSJ AWARDS
The HSJ Partnership Awards recognise the most effective collaborations with the NHS highlight the benefits which working with the private and third sectors can bring to patients and NHS organisations.
The Health Service Journal is the only title to cover all aspects of publicly funded healthcare, providing news, analysis, best practise information from some of the most powerful and respected figures in health. The HSJ audience is formed of healthcare leaders from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds and both public and private sectors.
ABOUT HELPFORCE
Helpforce is the only independent UK charity focused exclusively on establishing high impact volunteering services across the health system.
Its team of experts:
• Co-create innovative solutions with health and care organisations.
• Enable organisations to maximise the potential of volunteering to improve outcomes for people and services.
• Connect the people leading volunteers to improve quality together.
Founded in 2017, the charity works with NHS trusts, hospices, local authorities, and voluntary and community organisations – directly and indirectly supporting hundreds of thousands of people.
Helpforce was recently awarded a GSK IMPACT Award, a prestigious national health award for small and medium sized charities delivered in partnership with The King’s Fund, in recognition of programmes including Volunteer to Career.