The East Sussex Apprenticeship Graduation event took place recently, at the Winter Garden in Eastbourne.
The trust is proud to be recognised as a major local employer who values and invests in its workforce, giving employees the opportunity and support to undertake an apprenticeship in a variety of roles, enhancing individual knowledge and career paths.
The event also celebrated the hard work and dedication of individuals in the local area who had completed an apprenticeship within the last year. Employer representatives and training providers were also present recognising the hard work both sides have to put in for an apprenticeship for it to be successful.
East Sussex Healthcare Trust had extra representation with spotlight interviews from Dhanya Arun and Natasha Bassett included in the event brochure. They shared an honest and passionate account of their individual learning journey, detailing the highs, challenges they overcame and the overall advantages of undertaking an apprenticeship.
Their managers, Professor Scarlett McNally and Lesley Baker, highlighted their enthusiasm for supporting and investing in apprentices, championing the importance of building a skilled workforce who make invaluable contributions to a successful service.
The ceremony also included four special awards and huge congratulations go out to Belinda Coetzee who won the ‘Overall Contribution to the Business Award’. This award celebrates the outstanding contribution an East Sussex apprentice has made to their workplace during their apprenticeship. Belinda’s business case supported our health visiting service staffing crisis which has had an impact on delivery for over 3 years. Employment of staff nurses has been beneficial to our service, but previous induction and training programmes had been unsustainable resulting in a wide variation of competency and experience across the service. Belinda identified that there was a calling for a better prepared and skilled workforce to support the delivery of service. Therefore she proposed and has embeded a pathway which fulfils our strategic and service objectives with regards to preparing staff with the knowledge and skills to adapt to the everchanging current and future needs of the children and families we serve. We hope that this pathway will also support staff to progress in their careers to become Health Visitors, which will help combat the current reduced numbers of Health Visitors within our service. Whilst working on this business case, Belinda skills in communication, collaboration and working more strategically have supported not only the service but her won development in her role as Locality Manager
Well done also to trust apprentices Dhanya Arun who was shortlisted for the Best Progression Award, Rose Davies who was nominated for the same award and Tricia Edwards who was shortlisted for the Tutor Trainer of the Year Award.
If you would like to know more about apprenticeship opportunities, please contact the Apprenticeship Team on esht.opps@nhs.net for enquiries, advice and guidance.