‘You’re hired!’ Local hospitals join apprenticeship scheme

The trust's new apprentices, including Daisy (third from the left)

Epsom and St Helier hospitals have extended their commitment to recruiting the very best person for the job and developing new talent, taking on 12 members of staff as part of a national apprenticeship scheme.

The apprentices are formally employed by the National Skills Academy for Health, but work across the hospital departments, with roles in our estates management, skin care, x-rays and blood testing.

The apprenticeship placements will last for either one or two years, after which an interview will be offered to the apprentice should a permanent role be open at the time. 18-year old Daisy Rayner, an apprentice in the estates and facilities team at St Helier, said she couldn’t have been happier to be here:

“I love it! I’ve only been at St Helier for a few weeks and I’ve already learned so much; what with getting an understanding of fire safety regulations and how portering services gets managed, I’m starting to realise just how much goes on behind the scenes at the hospital.

“I’ll be here on my placement for one year, but I already know that I want to stay on afterwards; everyone I work with is just amazing and really supportive, and I wake up every day at 5am excited to come into work – I never thought I would ever say that about a job!”

Kevin Croft, Director of People and Organisational Development, said he was very pleased with how well the apprentices had taken to their positions:

“Our involvement in the National Skills Academy for Health’s apprenticeship scheme has been really successful. We’re completely committed to recruiting the best talent to our hospitals, and this programme has allowed us to do just that by opening up positions for the most enthusiastic and capable young people in the area to join our teams.

“In fact, we’ve been so impressed with the level of talent of our apprentices that we are planning on inducting another wave of fresh faces in about six months’ time, so I would encourage any hard-working and ambitious young people in the area to keep their eyes peeled for this opportunity to really kick-start their career.”

More information about employment opportunities and working with the trust can be found at www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/work-for-us.