THE Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is highlighting the contributions of our amazing apprentices ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (3-9 February).

A spokesperson said: We advertise apprenticeship opportunities within a variety of departments across the organisation as they become available. Candidates are encouraged to regularly review our vacancies on NHS Jobs and our website.

“We have continued to support apprenticeships in recent years and we now have a total of 77 apprentices working across the organisation. It is hoped that we will recruit a further 30 apprentices throughout the year, with new and existing colleagues taking on these roles.

Apprenticeships are available in a range of areas across the hospital, both in clinical and support services. This includes apprenticeships for business administration, team leaders/supervisors, laboratory technicians and nursing.

“There are apprenticeships to support progression at a variety of levels of education or experience. We have recently become the first hospital in Essex to adopt a new nursing degree apprenticeships scheme, working with Anglia Ruskin University. This four year scheme is a fantastic opportunity for students to earn while they learn and gain valuable experience working within a busy hospital environment, alongside attending university. Our new nursing degree apprentices will soon be joining our hospital.

“Ahead of the national celebration of apprenticeships next week, we are focusing on the work of our amazing apprentices. Hannah Hobbs, communications officer, (pictured), began her career at our hospital three-and-a-half years ago, after completing her A levels.

“She undertook a business administration apprenticeship with our medicine healthcare group, before moving onto our quality improvement team and then developing an interest in communications. Hannah joined the communications team in 2018 – she has supported us with fantastic work and is an asset to our hospital.

Hannah said: “Undertaking an apprenticeship was a great opportunity to meet so many different people and teams across the organisation and to gain an insight into the daily running of the hospital.

“I would recommend this route to those who may be considering applying for an apprenticeship – there is no upper age limit and this is a fantastic chance to gain an extra qualification and skills, whilst earning money at the same time.

“My apprenticeship has opened up so many doors for me and I’m now working in a role which I thoroughly enjoy; I will continue to build on my knowledge and experience within the communications field to further my career.”

Alison Williams, talent for care manager, said: “Our apprentices are invaluable, providing a wide variety of support to teams across our hospital.

“We encourage candidates to look out for opportunities advertised via NHS Jobs and our website. For our people who are already employed at our hospital, we also offer apprenticeship programmes relevant to their job role in order to facilitate professional development.”