Kelly Rose recently became the first midwife at our Trust to qualify through an apprenticeship.

For Kelly, who has a mortgage and children, doing an apprenticeship was the best way to train and still earn money to support her and her children’s lives.

It is the second apprenticeship that she has completed whilst working at our Trust after completing her first programme shortly after joining in December 2017 to become a maternity support worker.

Eager to follow her dreams of becoming a midwife, Kelly signed up to the midwifery apprenticeship pathway in 2022 shortly after it was introduced and completed her studies in December 2024. She was one of 50 graduates from our Trust to celebrate their achievements at the House of Commons earlier this week to mark National Apprenticeship Week. You can follow our live blog of the week here.

Kelly said:

For a mature student like me, with a mortgage and children, it was the best way I was able to train.

I want to get the message across that apprenticeships are for people of all ages.  

I would like to thank BHRUT for giving me the opportunity to live my dream. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through my journey.

Working and learning within a team who she had already worked with was one thing which Kelly felt like helped her grow and be more comfortable. She added:

The best thing about my apprenticeship was being able to stay within the Trust and learn from the midwives who I was already familiar with. Many of the midwives here are familiar with my skills, which made the learning process even more valuable.

I would strongly recommend the apprenticeship way as it provides structured training, financial support, the comfort of working within the Trust you are currently employed with. However, you get out what you put in – work hard, and the rewards are fantastic.

I feel I have learned so much more by completing an apprenticeship; the apprenticeship team was always on hand to help; I feel like I have been supported all the way through the course.