Five Island residents have begun an immersive two year training programme where they learn while they earn in unique apprenticeship roles within the Department of Health and Social Care.
The trainees in business administration & IT and finance have been placed in small teams supporting the delivery of health and social care services for the Island’s population. The placements offer each individual the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in a demanding back office role, while also studying for professional qualifications.
Each apprentice has been allocated a workplace mentor to support and guide them, ensuring they can make a real contribution to the Department, and complete the apprenticeship placement as skilled employees, ready to take on jobs either in Government or the business sector.
Business admin & IT apprentice Aimee Steel describes her experience in this short video.
The business admin & IT apprentices are involved in a wide range of corporate work, including patient transfers, referrals, medical records and contracts and commissioning. Opportunities have been lined up in other areas to ensure they experience as wide a range of roles as possible.
In finance, the apprentices are helping compile the myriad of figures produced each month to track the Department’s spending against budget, in areas from hospital drugs to off- Island treatment.
Minister for Health and Social Care David Ashford said:
‘I’m delighted the Department is hosting these aspiring professionals with our in-house apprenticeship scheme. We recognise that apprenticeships offer benefits both to the employer and the individual. Although our five apprentices have only been with us for a month or so, they’re showing great potential and making the most of the opportunity. We’re already considering offering further apprenticeships in the future, which may extend beyond these two disciplines.’
The business administration apprentices are studying for the HNC qualification in Administration & IT, while the finance trainees are working towards the ACCA Foundations in Accountancy award which leads to qualification as a Certified Accounting Technician.
