“I assisted clinical staff which resulted in patients having a better experience of the service.”
Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Jack provided admin support to the staff engagement and development team during his apprenticeship and has now been promoted to the role of clerical officer in the support services division.
How has the apprenticeship impacted on you?
The apprenticeship has given me the confidence and experience to pursue a career in the NHS and working in an office environment as previously I was a warehouse operative/forklift driver working for employment agencies.
How will the apprenticeship training continue to impact on you in the future?
The training will have a good impact on my future as future employers will see my work history and see that I have committed to upskilling myself in a completely new field and have passed with flying colours with one of the biggest organisations in the country and during some of the busiest times in recent memory.
How has the apprenticeship impacted on your organisation?
During my time in the apprenticeship, I was able to support the staff engagement team and the talent for care team with their admin functions. This consisted of supporting the team with any training events that they were facilitating, supporting when schools were coming in for a taster day, and making promotional materials. I was a superuser on the BKSB website site for functional skills and helped ensure any other apprentices who were doing functional skills were kept in track and supported. I also had a number of work experience students that were interested in getting into the NHS when they were older, and I gave them an unfiltered experience of what day to day life is like in the NHS.
During the Covid pandemic I was redeployed and given a new job for six months. I was assigned to delivering communications to our community clinics to ensure that staff members didn’t feel isolated or forgotten about. I also fed back to the comms and staff engagement team any concerns that were voiced to me.
How has Damar’s approach to training contributed to the impact of the apprenticeship on you and your organisation?
Louise and Fernando were my tutors, and they were amazing, I wasn’t the best student for getting coursework in on time due to the redeployment, but they supported me through every unit and every test. I think if they weren’t as committed as they were, I would have fallen behind and possibly fallen off the apprenticeship at the end.
Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
I was a forklift driver/ warehouse operative for years, working various different jobs and I wanted a change. I didn’t have any experience in an office environment, never mind the NHS. So really, I wanted a change more than anything and I ended up really enjoying it. I found a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that I was assisting the clinical staff which resulted in patients having a better experience of the service.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy being out, talking to staff asking what their opinions are on work and any concerns they have and going back to the team and trying to solve those issues. I enjoy solving the problems for staff which also builds relationships and trust with people as it shows that I am someone who cares and wants to make a difference.
What are your future career plans?
I feel I have a good base of experience now and with my functional skills and the apprenticeship complete, I want to specialise in something I’m passionate about but I don’t know what that is yet.