Meet the Apprentices
Charlie - Customer and Office Support Apprentice
My journey started all the way back in October 2019. At that time I joined Petroc College as a supported intern which is a course that combines college time, working on employability skills and a supported placement with a local employer. I always knew that I wanted to have a job that had an administrative role. A unique opportunity was given to me to work for the NHS in Exeter, initially at Wonford House. I had two roles: One was to arrange appointments for patients to see consultants by sending out letters and also by special text messages.
The other role was to put together special crisis folders for departments throughout Devon so that they would know what the procedures would be to manage potential disasters ranging from Tornados, to bomb threats and yes… even pandemics! Fortunately we had just finished making them when, lo and behold, the Pandemic struck and as a result, in march 2020 my internship at Wonford was postponed!!
6 months later, out of the blue, I was contacted by the NHS again and asked if I would like to resume my internship in a different location! This would be at Franklyn Hospital in Exeter – a dementia referral unit. They needed someone to run reception. I immediately accepted. Anything to get out again and a new challenge sounded just the ticket! My job coach, Pete, agreed to come along and support me. It was a great placement! The job had lots of different roles to it. I had to meet and greet visitors (family members, consultants, deliveries and new patients). At the same time I ran the general switchboard, taking messages for staff and patients, and take bookings for family visits in the visiting room. I also managed the staff rota, collected post and relayed that to the wards and ran messages to the wards as well. The days were long, in the middle of the pandemic. I had to get up early! Mum would drive me to Honiton Station and I’d get a train into Exeter, catch a bus to the other side of town and then the reverse at the end of each day. I wore a mask on the trains and all day at work as well, which took a couple of months to get used to! At the same time I found some work locally in a café on my spare days. I was nominated for an award for my contribution to the NHS front line during a pandemic by my line manager!
Just as the time with Franklyn was coming to an end, again out of the blue, they offered me a paid job! I was so thrilled that they would consider me. I was just about to accept when I was contacted by Petroc to say that Devon County Council had seen my CV and wanted to discuss a possible position as an apprentice. I was given a place!! My manager at the NHS was amazing about it and wished me the best.
So my
journey continues. I’m working in two incredible departments here: the Finance Transformation
Team and Peninsula Pensions plus a stint in Charging For Care. All the staff
have been incredibly supportive and my job coach Pete is here too, sharing in
this amazing journey we have had together. Hopefully there are plenty more
surprises, in this journey to come!
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