QVH staff champion National Apprenticeship Week

Hospital staff at Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) in East Grinstead have given their support to this year’s National Apprenticeship Week.

The week, from Monday 4 March to Friday 8 March, was the 12^th annual apprenticeship week.

This year’s theme was “blaze a trail” and that is certainly the experience of one of our current employees who has already completed two levels of apprenticeship and plans on developing her skills further by applying for a third.

Angela Manktelow, pictured, works as a healthcare assistant in the pre-assessment department. Her ultimate goal is to become a nurse.

She said: “I left school with barely any qualifications and I have dyslexia. I was adamant I wanted to go into the army as a combat medic, but I failed that on my legs.

“Six years ago I was pulling pints before I fell into a job in the hospital storeroom. When the chance came up to become a healthcare assistant working in theatres I applied.

“I was in theatres less than a year before applying to do my Diploma in Clinical Health and Support level two apprenticeship, which was the best thing I ever did. That then gave me all the points I needed to go on to do my level three apprenticeship and develop my skills while earning a wage. I’ve had the opportunity to work in admissions, discharge, recovery and now pre-assessment. I’m also doing part time work on the wards.

“This year I will be applying for my level five apprenticeship to do associate nursing. It was my childhood dream to be a nurse and now I’m that bit closer to it.”

And she has a message for anyone considering an apprenticeship: “Do it. And keep plugging away at it. It’s the hardest but most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had to do my maths test at least four times but I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.”

We are currently recruiting to a number of admin roles; please see our careers pages. All our staff benefit from the range of development opportunities at QVH, which includes apprenticeships.

Anyone can take up an apprenticeship to help them in their career or even to change career path. They are a work-based training programme which allows the apprentice to gain a qualification while earning a wage.

Apprenticeships are available at three levels:

• intermediate – leading to qualifications at level 2 (equivalent to GCSEs)
• advanced – leading to qualifications at level 3 (at least A level standard)
• higher – leading to qualifications at level 4 or higher (such as a foundation degree)

Once the course is completed, QVH apprentices can apply for any suitable vacancies at the hospital. If there are no vacancies available at that time, we proactively support them in finding suitable employment.

Geraldine Opreshko, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development at QVH, said: “We’re absolutely committed to developing and supporting our apprentices and we recognise how hard they work to complete their qualifications while contributing to the smooth running of our services. We’re delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to people who want to develop their skills.”

For more information please contact the QVH Press Office on 01342 414508.