Celebrating our apprentices

Four of our apprentices have shared what it’s like to have help in achieving their professional qualifications, as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

Kodie Wells, James Page, Lynn Bailey and Conor O’Malley have shared their stories to help to demonstrate the value apprentices bring. They are part of an army of more than 300 colleagues enrolled on apprenticeships programmes, from entry-level learning to Masters degree-level.

Last year 52 apprentices in the trust completed their learning programmes and 59 colleagues enrolled on to an apprenticeship, starting their journey. These included nursing associates, data analysts, dental nurses, occupational therapists, business administrator and chartered managers.

If you want to know more about what it’s like to earn while you learn, read the personal experiences of some of our apprentices, past and present, and find out what it’s like for them as they develop their careers as part of #TeamKCHFT.

Dream career within reach for Kodie

The Academy at KCHFT is helping Kodie Wells on her journey to become a fully-qualified nurse.

Kodie is three quarters of the way through a four-year registered nurse degree apprenticeship with KCHFT. The course involves degree level study through The Open University, with student placements in a variety of KCHFT services and a work-based role within the community. One day a week is allocated study time with placements taking up the remaining part of the week.

“I have experience in nannying, working in nurseries, newborn hearing screening and working with vulnerable families. It was when I was working as a community nursery nurse that I had the urge to move my career forward and to progress as a nurse.”

Juggling full-time work, placements and assignments has been hard at times but there have also been many high points along the way, as she explains:

“I have achieved marks for assignments that I thought at times were not possible. I’ve met some incredible teams of healthcare colleagues who have been so supportive of students and want to teach us, as well as the friends I have made along the way, who encourage me to keep going and provide a voice of reason when I need it.”

“For anyone considering an apprenticeship I would say, go for it! Yes, there is hard work to be put in, but it will pay off in the end. The apprenticeship route allows for further support from an employer and not just the university. My apprenticeship has encouraged me to believe that I can aim high and achieve what I set my mind to.”

James' golden ticket

From studying drama at The BRIT School to becoming a qualified teacher, James Page says his apprenticeship has been his golden ticket to a new career in occupational therapy.

“After leaving secondary school I was accepted into The BRIT School in Croydon. At the time it was the only free performing arts school in the country, so it was quite hard to get into. I studied there and then went on to university to study drama. I gained a postgraduate certificate of education and taught in a secondary school and then primary, but I found that something was missing for me and I left teaching to work for social services.”

James joined KCHFT as a therapy assistant after working in social services for three years.

“I really liked the idea of being face-to-face with patients so it was a good change for me. It was in January 2020 that the opportunity for an apprenticeship in occupational therapy came up I so went for it. I'd learnt a lot about occupational therapy from my time at social services, so I knew it was exactly what I wanted.”

James, now 35, combines his occupational therapy apprenticeship with his role as a member of KCHFT’s Community Rehabilitation Team in Tonbridge.

“I like helping people and supporting their family members through treatment. I mainly support older people in the community and I love it. It's really interesting work and I think it’s become more meaningful since Covid, because a lot of older people have found their occupations were more restricted due to lockdowns and shielding, for example.”

The pandemic brought many pressures to the role but being able to help people during such difficult times was very rewarding, as James explains:

“We were supporting people in their own homes during lockdown and often we were their only connection with the outside world. We had to continue that contact to keep the therapy and their mobility going. We needed to make sure our patients were safe in their homes and prevent them from needing to go in to hospital, where they may have been more vulnerable to infection.”

James is currently on a split placement as part of his apprenticeship which involves the design and development of a wellbeing garden at the trust’s Heathside Centre in Coxheath.

“It’s a really exciting project and the idea behind it is to provide OT students, like me, with innovative placements where we can put our learning into practice. I am involved in the initial research stage so I’m using my occupational therapy skills to look at how people interact with their working environments to create a really fantastic wellbeing space for the trust and it’s service users too.”

Achieving the impossible

Lynn Bailey completed her level five apprenticeship during COVID-19, finishing three months earlier than expected, to become an assistant practitioner in the Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) service at KCHFT.

Lynn said: “My allocated study time was 20 per cent of my work hours, meaning I could attend classroom sessions and have additional time to complete practical learning and coursework away from my day-to-day role. My line manager was my mentor and was able to support my learning and stretch my knowledge further. My colleagues in the trust encouraged and supported me in areas I needed to demonstrate my evidence towards my qualification.

Lynn recalls the challenges of having to strike a balance between full-time work, study and family time during a pandemic.

“The course started in early March 2020 and then the country went into lockdown. Balancing full time work, family commitments and the apprenticeship brought its challenges, often burning the midnight oil to complete work!”

Despite the challenges and the late nights, Lynn explains there have been many highlights along the way too: “There’s nothing more rewarding than achieving something that you didn’t feel possible in the beginning. My journey has given me confidence to believe in myself more A real highlight for me has been meeting and supporting other learners on the course and sharing our thoughts and laughter.”

Lynn says that it’s important to consider how the qualification will help support you as well as your employer: “If a full-time educational course is not an option, on-the-job learning offers a good compromise. It’s worth discussing with your family or support network, as an element of commitment is required to complete modules/tasks. However, try not to feel overwhelmed by the course content and schedule - it is a 24-month course and no one expects you to complete it in less time. For me, personally, I have gained so much in completing the course and what I’ve learnt I can use in my current role and beyond.”

A passion for health and fitness motivates Conor

Conor O’Malley, 36, is an apprentice physiotherapist and splits his time between studying and working as part of the KCHFT Falls Prevention Team based in Coxheath, Maidstone. His goal is to become a fully-qualified physiotherapist at the end of the programme.

Conor said: “I’ve always had a passion for health and fitness. Pain can have such a negative impact on a person’s life, not just physically but mentally too, and I find it really rewarding to be able to help someone to feel better, reduce pain and improve their overall health.”

With a background working in children’s health, occupational therapy and personal fitness training, Conor says that becoming a qualified physiotherapist was always the ambition and when he saw that KCHFT was inviting applicants to apply for the physiotherapy apprenticeship last year, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It was something I had always wanted to do and I’d been looking out for an opportunity where I could combine study and work.”

As part of the course, Conor attends the University of East London one day a week and is allocated six hours study time on top of that. He then works three days a week in the Falls Prevention Team in Coxheath.

“In addition to working and the funded study time, you also need to fit in extra revision time too, so it can be challenging at times and you do need to be prepared to work out a good work/life balance for yourself.”

Having just completed his first term, Conor says that the experience has been fantastic so far and he is particularly looking forward to the yearly work placements across the trust, which are part of the programme.

“The full course is four years and as part of that I will have an annual placement. My first one will be later this year which I am really looking forward to.”