Hospitals celebrate their apprentices

12 March 2018

The Trust which runs Shropshire’s acute hospitals has marked National Apprenticeship Week with a celebration of its own apprentice.

Every day last week a different apprentice appeared on the social media pages of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to showcase their talent.

Apprentices and developing new Apprenticeship schemes is a key part in developing the future workforce of the Trust.

Victoria Maher, Workforce Director at the Trust, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, said: “A clear element of our People Strategy is to home grow our workforce of the future; Apprenticeships support us to do this.

“We are absolutely committed to supporting local people through apprenticeship qualifications, as we recognise the huge value that they bring to organisations such as ours.

“Apprenticeships enable people to experience the world of work and gain a qualification while at the same time earning a wage.

“The NHS is a great place to work and an apprenticeship is a stepping stone to a great future.”

Laura Sheldon is a Business Administration Apprentice in the Chief Executive’s office. She said: “I wanted to go down the apprenticeship route as I thought NHS Apprenticeships were incredible opportunities to kick-start careers within the NHS.

“The knowledge I have gained is invaluable and I am grateful for the amount of time and attention I have been given by SaTH. My apprenticeship has taught me a lot, grown my confidence and open up doors I wouldn’t have known even existed – applying was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Judith Tudor, Workforce Transformation Manager said: “Since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April many new Apprenticeship Standards are being developed. In health, new opportunities are being introduced at higher levels, meaning that there is a real alternative to going to university emerging for young people. Now they will be able to apply for an Apprenticeship and be in paid employment while studying.”

Another Apprentice, Laura Wescott, was nominated for a Telford College Award last year and has since secured a permanent post. She is now undertaking a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

She said: “At the start of my apprenticeship I was quite shy and didn’t feel comfortable communicating with people face to face or on the telephone, however now it is part of my day to day work life and my confidence has grown massively. Within my apprenticeship I have learnt a lot about office work, such as the basic administrative tasks as well as organising events, supporting campaigns and hosting stands at careers fairs.”