The journey to success

An example of a successfully apprenticeship in the health and care sector is Liam Redden. He was working as a business support officer for the local council and was seconded to a service providing active support and a single point of access to those who may require health and social care, and housing support.

He was inspired by the interaction of healthcare professionals with their patients, and with the encouragement of the nursing staff, he volunteered at Sedgefield Community Hospital and undertook an NHS apprenticeship. Liam completed his level 3 NVQ in Health and Social Care and then went on to study for his Foundation Degree in Advanced Health Care Practice at Teesside University, becoming a health care assistant full-time.

His experience

Talking about his learning experiences, Liam is filled with enthusiasm and would recommend learning opportunities to anyone in his position wanting to push forward their career. The apprenticeship made Liam realise just how much he was doing every day, it helped his confidence grow and it also made him consider the way he was working and has changed his approach as a consequence.  “It made me think about the background to my actions and made me address cases much more holistically,” which can only be of benefit to his patients and his team.

The apprenticeship made Liam extremely ambitious. Not only does he plan to return to the Kasoa Health Centre in Ghana, west Africa where he volunteered for one month, but he hopes to progress to full nurse training and eventually aspires to reach a management position in healthcare.

Karen’s success

Similarly to our Flexi-job Apprenticeship Scheme, Health Education England delivered a 12 month level 4 apprenticeship course which was hosted by the NBIA. Karen joined the team in February 2019. “I started off working in the breast unit as a chaperone and loved the patient contact,” she explains. “I found myself wanting to learn more and was really interested in the imaging side of things. I began asking more questions regarding the mammograms and this led to me shadowing a mammographer. Then a job was advertised and my consultant colleagues encouraged me to apply. I got the job which I was amazed at, as I had only worked for the breast unit for four months and I have never looked back.”

Dedicating herself to studying for the apprenticeship and learning on the job skills, even throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Karen achieved a distinction qualification and has her sights set on perfecting her technique, building her confidence and eventually progressing to involvement in Quality Assurance and Health Promotion.

Feedback from Karen

“I would definitely recommend the programme; it was great to have not just the practical side of learning but having the off-the-job-learning too was brilliant as I have learnt so much which has increased my knowledge. I have visited the path labs, MRI, MDT observed in ultrasound, followed a lady through her journey from referral from her doctor to diagnosis, surgery and her aftercare treatment and many more. I was one of the oldest on the apprenticeship and lacked confidence and doubted my ability. But it proves it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you work hard, are determined and put your mind to it, with all the training and support around you.”