NHS apprentices celebrate achievements after training in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership (NHCP) held its third annual county-wide celebration to honour its healthcare apprentices.

A total of 42 apprentices were awarded at the event on February 7 at the Park Inn by Radisson in Northampton.

This event celebrated the achievements of apprentices working across health and care services in Northamptonshire, recognising the talents and success stories from across the county.

Rhiannon Rees-Jones, an administrative assistant in adult social care won the overall ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award, as well as the ‘Behind the Scenes’ award.

Rhiannon said: "As someone with Asperger’s, life can be pretty challenging, but I no longer see it as a barrier. I have achieved things I never thought I would thanks to the support of my friends, family and colleagues. Without this strong network of individuals, I don’t think I would have the courage to go on this journey and reach this milestone.”

Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership have recruited over 300 apprentices in the last 12 months, up from 243 last year. New apprentices were recruited onto a wide variety of apprenticeship programmes in health and care such as; nurse degrees and nursing associates and administrative roles in business, HR and finance.

Laura Lydia Watts, Project Manager for Apprenticeships and Work Experience at NHCP said, “Apprenticeship programmes provide routes into a variety of careers and Northamptonshire’s health and care organisations are committed to offering apprenticeship opportunities at all levels – both for new recruits starting out their careers and also providing opportunities for existing staff to develop and progress.

“Our celebration event was a fantastic opportunity to showcase how valuable apprenticeships are both for individuals and the NHS and social care as employers.”

There were ten award categories in total, including County Nurse; Newcomer and Personal Achievement and nominations were received for apprentices working in many different job roles across the partnership network.