This week is National Apprenticeship Week 2022 – the 15th annual celebration of apprenticeships.
The Trust is heavily invested in its Apprenticeship programme and is currently supporting hundreds of new and existing colleagues both clinical and non-clinical gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours to thrive in their job roles and meet their career ambitions.
The week gives us the opportunity to recognise the positive impact Apprenticeships can bring. To learn more about apprenticeship opportunities available at the Trust, keep an eye on our vacancies page, here.
To learn more about just one apprentice based here at the Trust, read Rachel’s story below:
Apprenticeship Week case study
Rachel Cowell is taking part in the Business Administrator Level 4 apprenticeship, and is a Non-Medical Student Placement Coordinator at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.
Introduction to the Apprentice
I joined the Practice Education Facilitator Team (PEF) in 2018 as a Band 2 Administrator Apprentice. My duties in this role were to support the team and update team databases and spreadsheets.
The Apprenticeship route really appealed to me as even though I had previous admin experience, I had been out of work for a while due to having children, so I knew I needed to update my skills and knowledge. I decided to look for a training opportunity rather than an administration job and this was one of the first jobs that I had seen.
Learning and development
I did not have to attend college for this apprenticeship, my Skills Coach came to visit me in the workplace once a month. During my time on-programme, I learnt a lot from the Apprenticeship content which I wasn’t necessarily expecting.
I learnt new skills, such as project management which I found very extremely beneficial as this is something that I use in my current job role. There were challenges that I had to face such as completing my final assessment as we had now moved into lockdown. However, I was supported, and I was able to complete my End Point Assessment.
Benefits of choosing an Apprenticeship as an education route
To me, the benefit of the Apprenticeship is the hands-on experience that you will have. I find that the actual learning on the job is more beneficial than the learning in a classroom. I was able to continue earning a salary too during the completion of my Apprenticeship.
Achievements and Success
My achievement is completing the Apprenticeship and achieving distinction. The completion of the Apprenticeship has enabled me to progress from a Band 2 to a Band 3 and I’ve recently been successful in applying for a Band 4 secondment which will further improve my career.
Future Plans
I would like to complete the Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship in the future. I am the type of person who does enjoy learning so I do look out for opportunities that are job relevant and can also lead to further qualifications in the future.