The day for Sheffield, a northern English city started as usual, wet and rainy, yes there have been forecasts for a wet June and possible flooding in Northern England, but Sheffielders felt safe in the knowledge that their hilly city is not prone to flooding.

Not even Sheffielders remember when the last big floods occurred. Digging back into history you would have to back over 150 years to 1864 when the Dale Dyke Dam burst.

SPAT-C situated at the SYAC Centre on the river bank felt the full force of the flooding as the following time-line and the news reporting illustrates:

1.30pm - The River Don that runs through the heart of the city was a raging torrent, but in the near 15 years we have been in our current premises, I have seen this many times before, many times.

A colleague suggests that the river is going to burst its banks, having only been with us for barely 2 years, he obviously was not party to my inside knowledge that it has never flooded in at least 15 years, nor have I known any serious flooding in Sheffield in the 40 years I have lived here. So I ask my colleague to put his money where his mouth is, a bet ! "I bet you £50 the river won't burst". But he won't take the bet !

About 10 min's later, 1.40pm with the waters rising, I venture out to take a closer look.

Read the Full Flood Time Line

The NHS Trust has approached SPAT-C, to see if any peoples from the Black & Ethnic Minority communities would be interested in the following trainee job vacancy.

JOIN THE TEAM – MAKE A DIFFERENCE

We need dedicated people from a variety of backgrounds to join the team and make a difference to emergency healthcare in South Yorkshire .

TRAINEE PARAMEDIC

Salary: £17,144pa rising to £22, 542pa when qualified

  This is one of the most challenging jobs there is, where every call is a real test of your skill and stren gt h of character. Not every one is cut out to become a paramedic – you might be.

The Trust will provide high quality clinical skills training which will equip you for this role. You will initially undertake the Emergency Medical Technician course and be prepared to undertake continuous professional development which will ultimately lead to you becoming a qualified Paramedic.

Ideally, you will have a GCSE or equivalent standard education, however applications will also be considered from individuals who can demonstrate that they have undertaken continuous learning over the last three years. A full driving licence with category C1 is essential along with a minimum of 2 years regular driving experience and no more than 3 penalty points for speeding. Driving license with category D1 is desirable.

Equally important will be your enthusiasm and willingness to care for patients in a professional manner in all circumstances. You will also be committed to the Trust's values and demonstrate a positive approach to working in a changing environment

Numeracy, literacy and driving assessments will be held prior to interview as part of the recruitment process.

Full details of the requirements for the above role are in the information packs which can be obtained from personnel by sending an A4 stamped, self addressed envelope to the value of 75p to the Personnel Department , South Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Fairfield , Moorgate Road , Rotherham , S60 2BQ .

The closing date for the receipt of applications is noon on Monday 22 nd November 2004

√√ We aim to represent and value the diversity of our local communities through our workforce & service provision. We therefore positively encourage applications, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religion.

  South Yorkshire Ambulance Service operates a smoke-free workplace .

Downloads

TraineeParamedic-ExternaltoBMEcommunitiesNovember2004.doc

ExternalApplicationForm.doc

STANDARDRECRUITMENTBOOKLET-forvacancies.doc

TraineeParamedicJD-Feb04.doc

Introduction and background to SPAT-C

•  Sheffield Positive Action Training Consortium (SPAT-C) is a pioneering voluntary sector organisation. The main motivation behind SPAT-C's creation has been a desire to combat the social exclusion of Sheffield 's Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.

•  Its remit has now expanded to include the local white community, those of mixed heritage, as well as refugees, who are experiencing labour market exclusion and other forms of disadvantage.

SPAT-C's Mission, Values, Aims & Objectives

•  The Agency's mission is to combat social, economic and cultural disadvantage through the provision of high value vocational training and to influence positive change within employment practice, mainstream service delivery and the wider policy making field.

•  A key policy objective is to design and deliver a range of accredited and non-accredited learning programmes so that beneficiaries can build their vocational skills at the same time as enhancing their confidence and self-esteem

SPAT-C's broad priorities in terms of business strategy are:

•  Diversify the curriculum offer in order to widen choice and enlarge the range of benefits to learners

•  Expand into new markets, developing new client bases within, for example, the corporate and third sectors

•  Diversify our funding and income generation in a concerted way so as to create financial sustainability (for instance, through contracting opportunities and consultancy work)

•  Continue to improve our quality assurance, Continuous Professional Development systems, in line with the Common Inspection Framework (CIF)

•  We are committed to ensuring total and unconditional accountability through improved Management Information Systems.

•  We will develop stronger and more effective ways of identifying and judging the organisation's wider socio-economic impact