Applicant Guide

Applicant Guide

NHS England (South West)) co-ordinates recruitment to advanced training posts on behalf of the Joint Committee on Surgical Training. All details are posted on Oriel and on this recruitment website.  Details of the advanced training can also be found on the JCST website. 

Tip for applying: Please read the whole application process before starting an application.

Training Posts and Locations

The training is delivered within units across the country and details of the training units and the training delivered is available on the recruitment section of the JCST website.

Eligibility

When applying, you will need to make sure that you meet all the eligibility criteria by the closing date of applications or the commencing date of the post where stated.

From 2023 the fellowships have been solely open to applicants that will be post-certification or appear on the GMC and/or Irish Specialist Registers at the start date of the post. These posts are suited to those applicants within two years of the completion of specialty training. 

The full requirements are outlined in the Person Specification.

Applying Online through the Oriel Recruitment System

Each sub-specialty has an individual application process and an individual application should be completed for each of the sub-specialties that you wish to apply to. 

Applications should be made via an on-line application portal (Oriel) which can be accessed from the ‘Apply Now’ button at the top of this webpage.

You can create an account (account registration) before you apply, and this will allow some fields in subsequent applications to auto populate.  You will also be able to track the progress of each of your applications.

Account Registration is available from the home page of Oriel.  An Oriel User Guide is also available that will assist you in using the system at each stage of the recruitment process.

Completing an Application

Applications can be completed and submitted at anytime until the closing date on the 2nd of December 2024 at 4:00pm (UK time).

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide supplementary documentation.  It is essential to have achieved a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or appear on the GMC or Irish Specialist Register by the start date of the posts and as part of the application you will be asked to evidence this.

Evidence can be provided in the form of:

• Completed Specialty Training: Certificate of Completion of Training or ARCP Outcome 6
• Currently on the Specialist Register:  Formal letter or screenshot of the register
• Currently in training and will achieve CCT prior to taking up the post:  ARCP from most recent assessment including CCT Date.
• Awaiting entry to the Specialist Registrar:  Suitable evidence to demonstrate you will appear on the Specialist Register by the start date of the post.

Submitting an Application

Applications can be submitted at any point until the closing date. Late applications will not be accepted.

We recommend that you save and check your application and only press the submit button when you have carried out this process. This will ensure you are submitting the correct version of your application.  Alterations cannot be made to an application once it has been submitted.

Tip: Submit your application at least 30 minutes before the closing time of the application process.

Fitness to Practice

Applicants with fitness to practice declarations will need to submit additional documentation clearly defining the declaration, including dates and outcome to england.confidential.sw@nhs.net.

Longlisting

All applications will be checked for evidence of the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. Applications that do not demonstrate the criteria will not continue through the process. Applicants will be notified of this decision via email.

References

As part of the application form you will be asked to provide the names and contact details of three people to act as your referees.

If you are offered and accept a fellowship we will contact your referees directly and ask them to complete a reference on your behalf. 

We do not ask candidates to take any action to obtain the references, but we would recommend that candidates check the email addresses are correct and that they inform their referees that we will be contacting them via email in February 2025.

Invitation to Interview

Applicants will be notified of an invitation to interview via a text message no later than 14 days prior to the interviews. Interview slots will be available to book through Oriel, and we recommend booking an interview slot early to maximise choice.

Applicants will be provided with a link to additional information regarding the interview schedule and the additional documentation required when invited to attend the interviews.

The Selection Process

The panel’s main aim is to find out whether you meet the requirements of the person specification for the post for which you are applying, and to ensure that the best candidates are selected in this highly competitive process.

There will be two components to this selection process:

Curriculum Vitae and Logbook

We will ask candidates to provide a structured CV and logbook prior to the interviews.  A template for the CV will be available on the individual sub-specialties page and details on how to upload the documents will be provided to candidates as part of the invitation to interview.

Interviews

The interviews will be held on-line and there will be no requirement to attend in person.

The process for each candidate may take up to an hour.  There will be representation from all specialties on the interview panel.  Further detail of the interview will be released nearer the time.

Where would you like to train - Expressing a Preference

There are training centres throughout the country and candidates will be given the choice of where they want to train.  Candidates will be asked to rank the training locations in order of preference.  This process will be carried out within the on-line application portal (Oriel).  An automated message, containing instructions, will be sent to candidates when the preferences are available to select. 

Candidates will have until the point of offer to make a final decision with the preferences.  Candidates can log-in to the system at any point until that time to select or amend their choices.

The more options candidates select the more opportunities you have to be placed but when making your selections only selection the training centres that you would be to take up.

Offers

Following the selection process candidates will be given a rank and this will be based on the overall score achieved from the supporting evidence and interview.

A matching process will take place and successful candidates will be matched in rank order to their highest preference that is available.

All offers will be made through the Oriel recruitment system.  An email will be sent containing the offer and a text message will be sent to alert candidates that an offer has been made.  

Candidates will have 48 hours (excluding weekends) to accept or decline an offer.  If candidates do not accept or decline an offer within the allotted time, the offer will automatically default to decline. 

Successful candidates with limited preferences that have been exhausted will not receive an offer and will be notified of this.

Feedback

Feedback will be provided on request.

Question not answered

After reading this guide if your question is not answered please contact:

For questions regarding the recruitment process please contact the national recruiter: -

• Candidate Support Line: 01454 252610
• Email Support: england.sevrecruitment.sw@nhs.net