Learndirect spoke to their partner Queen Elizabeth Hospital about their apprenticeships, and how Developing People has shown positive results in their workplace.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital is an established 488 bed general hospital which provides healthcare services to West and North Norfolk in addition to parts of Breckland, Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire. The hospital believes in developing the skills of the workforce to meet their own needs, in both clinical and non-clinical areas, enabling them to prepare for change rather than reacting to change. Apprenticeships form a large part of this and the hospital works with learndirect to provide qualifications in business administration, customer service and IT.
Sharon Carter is the Apprenticeship Co-ordinator at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She said:
“We use Apprenticeships to support improvements in productivity and drive up the quality of patient care. Apprenticeships increase the number of young people in the workforce and because they are developed in line with our methods and practices, provides the Trust with fresh, creative ideas.
“Apprenticeships have also helped the Trust address the commonly held view that taking on young people, new to the world of work, is risky. Hosting an apprentice has given departments a chance to reduce the barriers and stereotypes around recruiting young people.
“They not only benefit the hospital but also the young people themselves. We support young people entering into healthcare who have the right attitude, values and standards but may have achieved fewer pre-employment academic qualifications.
“The Apprenticeship model enables them to develop their skills to do their job safely and competently. They are invaluable.
“In the last four years, apprentices securing permanent positions at the hospital have increased the age profile of employees significantly. The hospital, which once had 1% of staff in the 16-19 age range, now truly reflects the demographics of the local population.
“Our future plans include expanding the Apprenticeship program, which currently holds between 75 and 100 students on program at any one time, across the trust to create pools of talented individuals with the right skills and experience that can be recruited by departments as positions become available.”
What Next?
If you’re interested in developing young people working in your organisation then pledge to support our YEUK Young Professional programme and help support them to take control of their own Personal Development.
