11 February 2026 Bridge to Nursing workshops launch in Teesside, uniting students and nurses to tackle health inequalities

• New workshops will connect young people with nurse mentors to widen access to nursing careers.
• Regional health and education leaders are backing a place-based approach to improving health inequality.

The Talent Foundry, an education charity, launched its first Bridge to Nursing workshop in Teesside yesterday. The programme brings together young people, nurse mentors and healthcare leaders to help tackle health inequalities and improve social mobility across the region.

This first workshop took place on 4 February 2026, welcoming students aged 16-18 from schools and colleges across Teesside, representing all of the local authorities in the area. Students took part in interactive sessions designed to build confidence, raise awareness of nursing careers, and provide practical insight into routes into healthcare degrees, apprenticeships and employment.

The workshops, supported by 15 nurse mentors from a range of organisations and clinical specialisms, offer students the opportunity to learn directly from professionals working across the health and care system. The session was attended by the David Purdue, Chief Nurse for NHS England North East and Dr Ann French, Dean of Teesside University’s School of Health and Life Sciences.

The Bridge to Nursing programme is delivered by the Talent Foundry in partnership with NHS England North East and Yorkshire, Teesside University, Middlesbrough Council and the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The programme is funded through Legal & General’s Health Equity Fund, launched in partnership with the UCL Institute of Health Equity, to support place-based initiatives tackling the root causes of health inequality.

Through a series of workshops, mentoring and hands-on experience, Bridge to Nursing will support 30 students through an intensive pre-degree programme and reach a further 475 students through wider school-based awareness sessions. The programme aims to build a diverse local talent pipeline into nursing careers and strengthen the future NHS workforce in areas experiencing some of the poorest health outcomes in the UK.

When asked what they enjoyed most about the first sessions, students said:

Speaking with mentors and discovering occupations I didn’t know about.

Meeting new people and nurses and learning about opportunities.

Realising that there is a lot more to a job in healthcare than what I thought.

Cate Smith, Director of Programmes and Partnerships at The Talent Foundry, said:

Bridge to Nursing is about tackling entrenched health inequities in Teesside and giving young people the opportunity to shape their own futures and their communities’ health. By opening pathways into nursing for talented students who might otherwise be excluded, we will help them fulfil their potential and strengthen the NHS workforce where it is most needed. Bringing students and nursing mentors together at the start of this programme helps ignite ambition and unlock potential, showing young people that nursing is an achievable career.

David Purdue, Chief Nurse for NHS England North East and Yorkshire, said:

We are delighted to be partnering with TTF on this fantastic programme. As a health and care system, we have a social responsibility to grow our future nursing workforce to be reflective of the communities they serve, whilst reducing inequalities and promote social mobility through employment and educational opportunities. Education and employment opportunities have long been linked to better health outcomes. Giving young people opportunities to pursue a career in nursing will also benefit local populations as once qualified nurses can influence health outcomes in their communities.

Dr Ann French, Dean of Teesside University’s School of Health & Life Sciences, said:

At Teesside University we have an established track record of working with healthcare providers to deliver the much-needed skills needed to improve the health of our region and beyond. Equally, we take pride in our progressive approach to ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from the transformative impact of higher education. Therefore, we are delighted to be part of this programme which aligns perfectly with our mission and values as a civic university for the Tees Valley.

Bridge to Nursing aims to improve educational and employment outcomes for young people and create a scalable model for improving health and social mobility outcomes through place-based collaboration.

This programme also offers NHS and other health and care sector opportunities for professional development through mentoring and volunteering, strengthening links between healthcare providers and the communities they serve. Its impact will be measured through participant retention, progression into nursing degrees and student and volunteer feedback.

With the need to continue growing interest and applications to nursing programmes, initiatives like Bridge to Nursing are critical to ensuring the NHS has a representative workforce capable of delivering care where it is most needed.