We marked this year’s National Apprenticeship Week with a grand celebration, reflecting on our commitment towards apprenticeships.

With over 400 staff members, accounting for five per cent of the workforce, participating in our apprenticeship programmes, we are now proud members of the 5% club.

Our apprenticeship programmes are designed to help growth and development of people at all stages of their career, with our apprentices ranging from 17 to 61 years of age, and a third of them studying leadership and management.

Last year. we had over 50 apprentices graduate, with 30 of them attending a breakfast reception and awards ceremony in the famous Winston Churchill Room at the House of Commons last week.

Dame Margaret Hodge MP:

It has been a real pleasure to sponsor the event here in the Palace of Westminster and to meet so many of the apprentices who’ve done such great achievements.

The event, sponsored by our local MP Dame Margaret Hodge, was kicked off with a congratulatory speech by Health Minister Andrew Stephenson MP. Apprentices were also joined by some of their line managers and senior leaders from the Trust and NHS England, including Jane Hadfield, National Lead for NHS Apprenticeships.

Jane Hadfield:

The Trust are a real trailblazer in the apprenticeship space – they were one of our very first initiators of the nursing apprenticeships.

Highlights of the event included individual awards presented by our Chief Nurse, Kathryn Halford, and our Chief People Officer Janine La Rosa. The awardees, Angelica Sierra Morales, and Oluwole Adeyiga, were recognised for their commitment to their programme and the impact they have had in their respective work areas.

Oluwole, known as Baba, was particularly inspiring. His journey, from a porter to a radiographer, which has been seen by over 20,000 people on social media, showed the transformative power of apprenticeships.

Baba, Diagnostic Radiographer:

I started as a porter 12 years ago, and now I am a qualified radiographer. If I can do it, you all can do it. Apprenticeships are the way guys!

The programme continues to grow from strength to strength with our Director of Education and Workforce Development, Kenye Karemo, outlining the Trust’s plan to go even further.

Kenye Karemo:

We aspire to be the biggest and best employer in north east London because we are an organisation that believes that everyone and anyone can be anything that they choose to be.

We are committed to offering a wide variety of apprenticeship programmes, 39 to be precise, ranging from levels 2-7. Just some of our programmes include Healthcare Support Worker, Nursing Associate, Senior Leadership, Customer Service Practitioner, Registered Nurse Top Up. If you’re interested in taking your career in a different direction or are starting out and interested in working with us, please explore the vacancies section on our website for more information on the apprenticeship roles available.