Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board staff win best promoter of Welsh in workplace

Staff at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have picked up the Best Promoter of Welsh in the Workplace at this year’s Careers Wales Valued Partner Awards.

The national awards, held at The Pierhead Main Hall in Cardiff Bay on 22 November, celebrate the efforts of employers throughout Wales who work in partnership with Careers Wales to help schools and young people to engage with the world of work.

The Welsh Language Team at Betsi Cadwaladr was nominated for the work it has done to inform, inspire and motivate young people about career opportunities within the health sector in North Wales – in particular the opportunities to work bilingually.

After the team contributed to a number of events arranged by Careers Wales at secondary schools throughout North Wales in June and July this year, the two organisations then worked together to arrange a large-scale secondary school tour, to coincide with last month’s BCUHB Welsh Language Week 2023.

Eleri Hughes-Jones, Head Of Welsh Language Services, said: “We were absolutely delighted to receive this award, which recognises the important work the team is doing to promote the use of the Welsh Language and highlight the opportunities to use it to support our NHS services in North Wales.

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to use their Welsh language skills whether they are a fluent speaker, a learner or only know a few phrases.

“Being able to communicate with patients in their first language is vitally important at BCUHB and the Health Board actively looks to recruit staff with Welsh language skills for a wide range of roles.”

Over a ten-day period in October, more than 20 sessions were held at 13 different secondary schools across North Wales to inform pupils about the importance of Welsh-medium service provision in the health sector and the advantages of bilingualism as an employment skill, more generally.

The Welsh Language Team plans to continue working closely with Careers Wales and another School Tour in 2024 is already being discussed.

Alongside an initial presentation from a member of the Welsh Language Team, each of the sessions that were held as a part of the recent tour also included contributions from members of the Public Health Team and short presentations by clinical staff who discussed their own personal experiences of working bilingually.