We kicked off National Apprenticeship week in style by celebrating our apprentices at the House of Commons.

More than 50 of our staff who have graduated from their apprenticeship in the last year attended the awards ceremony and afternoon tea which was hosted by Nesil Caliskan, the MP for Barking. 

Each apprentice received a certificate for their achievements with Karen Guner and Amanda Davis achieving individual awards for the Empowering Achievement Award and the Chief People Officer Apprentice Award. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were also named the Chief People Officer Team Award with Janine La Rosa, our Chief People Officer presenting them.

We offer a wide range of apprenticeships across 39 different programmes from Level 2 to Level 7 allowing people to get their first step into healthcare or develop and excel their career. This was the case for Ross Denyer, who started as a volunteer for the Trust and is now a fully qualified phlebotomist. He said:

I was a way finder, helping patients to wards and saw the job for a phlebotomist and wanted to get my foot in the door.

I was so lucky that I managed to get this job and have this apprenticeship. It has been a mental, crazy ride and I have really enjoyed it.

For Vinoj Srinivasan the apprenticeship helped him develop and excel in his career as a Delivery and Performance manager. He said:

When I started the apprenticeship, I was at a lower level. I’ve had three promotions since I started the Level 7 leadership programme and I think a big part of why I’ve been promoted and been able to gain other skills is from the programme.

5% of our workforce – more than 400 members of staff – are doing an apprenticeship with 110 graduating from their programmes within the past 12 months.

And we have also begun running apprenticeships for people who work outside our Trust since achieving our Main Provider status in April 2024.

Matthew Trainer, our Chief Executive, spoke on the day about this great achievement and the opportunities it gives our staff.  He said:

It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate our status as a gold apprenticeship provider.

This isn’t just about giving people that access to learning and development, it’s about giving them a career in the NHS.

Health Secretary and MP for Ilford North, Wes Streeting, also joined the celebrations speaking to some of our apprentices about the impact their programme has had on their careers. Hear what he said at the event below:

Also celebrating with the apprentices were some of their managers, senior leaders and guests from NHS England.