Hello. My name is Michele and I’m a Care Group Manager at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust managing the Theatres and Anaesthetics department. I’ve worked in the NHS since 1997, starting in a temporary role. I was fortunate that someone spotted my potential and gave me the opportunities to take up a permanent post and to train. Having left school with my O Levels, I went ‘back to school’ aged 40 to take my Management Diploma. I’m now responsible for running a busy department, coordinating medical staff and patients to ensure that the right people and resources are in the right place at the right time.

During my NHS career, I have seen some changes in how the organisation works. Perhaps not surprisingly, everyone now has to be more accountable for their actions and particularly how money is spent, both on staffing and resources. That’s really how we started recruiting apprentices.

Following the financial crisis, in 2010 our NHS Trust froze recruitment for all management and administration staff for 12 months. Following the freeze, we were only allowed to recruit apprentices. At that time, I don’t think there were many apprentices in the Trust at all so this was new territory for us. However, I needed a Clerical Officer and found a Level 2 Business Administration Apprenticeship route that would fit the role well, so we went ahead and advertised the post. I interviewed two candidates and decided to take on both.

Ten years later, I am pleased to say that both are still in the organisation. The previously timid young lady is now in a Band 3 role and the young man, who only applied because he was fed-up with his previous job, is now in a Band 4 Junior Manager post working in Procurement.

Since then, I think I have had more than twenty apprentices. One or two haven’t stayed with us but the majority have. They are treated just like any other member of staff – so the same expectations but also the same opportunities. Many have seen it as an opportunity to progress within the organisation. As a manager, I see apprentices as an opportunity to invest in the future of our organisation.

Although many other managers were sceptical about Apprenticeships when we first started, I was happy to be part of a working group formed within the Trust to help share best practice and our experiences. I’m pleased to say that this has been really successful with many other departments taking on apprentices now and in a wider variety of roles, including Health Care Support, Audiology, Clinical Photography and more. I think the Trust has become much more active in working with training providers, to really ensure our Apprenticeships have great structure and real relevance to our workplace.

So, what does a Business Admin’ Apprentice typically do? It is very varied: they will spend time on Reception, greeting patients as they arrive for their appointments. They will prepare case-notes ready for those appointments, process test results and correspondence, and ensure all of these are filed correctly. All the time, they will be regularly dealing with enquiries on the telephone or from medical staff – it’s always busy! The Apprenticeship is 12 months long, during which time they are given specialist training (like patient confidentiality) on top of the course requirements. Having NHS experience then stands the Apprentice in a really good position if they want to go on to another role or another department internally.

I don’t think many people realise quite how many roles there are in the NHS that don’t involve being a Doctor or Nurse. Although these frontline staff are clearly vital, they couldn’t work effectively without the teams of people supporting them. The NHS offers some great career paths; if anyone is curious, it’s worth checking some of them out.

I would also encourage any manager to seriously look at Apprenticeships as a way to invest in their business. Personally, recruiting Apprentices feels like a way to ‘pay back’ the training that has been invested in me. Professionally, in my experience, apprentices are a real asset to the business. They are often loyal, curious and eager to learn. Many will choose to stay in an organisation that has invested in them so are great for staff retention and reducing recruitment costs.

For more information on NHS Careers, visit www.healthcareers.nhs.uk