8 March 2017

Star Apprentice Zoey Taylor: Apprenticeship offers ideal career

Zoey Taylor, age 21, is an Apprentice specialising in end of life domiciliary care at AMG Nursing in Chesterfield.

 

When Zoey was growing up, she always wanted to be a vet. However, she opted not to go to university so that she could stay at home and care for her grandmother, who was ill. When her nan passed away two years ago, she says she ‘felt something was missing’ and decided to go into a career in care with AMG Nursing, who cared for Zoey’s grandmother before she passed away.

 

Zoey’s role as a Health and Social Care Apprentice involves caring for patients in their homes. This can range from keeping them company, to making them meals or personal care such as bathing, or washing clothes. Zoe joined AMG Nursing in Chesterfield eighteen months ago, and was enrolled on an Apprenticeships in Health and Social Care with Acacia Training to help formalise her training. Although she previously had a lot of caring experience with her nan, Zoe says that the formal training she has gained on her apprenticeship has helped her to appreciate the strict rules in place to ensure high standards, and become more aware of what is appropriate when caring for others.

Zoey says: “The Apprenticeship has helped me to feel my role as a carer is valuable, skilled and appreciated. I really enjoy what I do. It’s a lot of responsibility…. I performed CPR on a patient for 20 minutes last week until paramedics arrived, it can be very hard. But I honestly wouldn’t do anything else and the Apprenticeship has helped me to feel confident and skilled in what I do.”

 

Jessica Baugh, compliance manager at AMG Nursing agrees. She says: “We have more than 20 staff at any one time undertaking Apprenticeships with Acacia Training. The qualifications improve staff’s confidence in themselves and develop their self-esteem. We have several staff who might not have done any learning since school and didn’t originally achieve English and maths GCSEs. Before they even start their Apprenticeship, they retake their English and maths and this helps them feel motivated to go on and complete the qualification.”

 

She adds: “As an employer, Apprenticeships give us motivated and skilled staff, but they also give us quality assurance that all our team who are caring for people in the community have up-to-date knowledge on things like dementia, manually lifting patients, best practice to ensure our patients’ dignity, and more.”

 

She concludes: “Our carers complete this qualification because they want to work to professional standards and do a good job. They want to progress to become a coordinator or manager and we will help them get there. Apprenticeships are great for people of all ages and all career backgrounds. Our oldest Apprentice is over 50 and previously had a career in sales.”

 

Acacia Training provides Apprenticeships, work-based training and short courses for new employees or those already working in the care, childcare and health and social care sectors. Contact us to find out how.

 

New to the sector and looking for an Apprentice role? We are teaming up with HC-One to recruit to a host of new apprenticeship vacancies across the East and West Midlands.

 

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6 March 2017

Lisa Robinson of Home Instead is our Star Apprentice!

Lisa Robinson, age 44, from Burton on Trent, is proof that apprentices aren’t just for school leavers who are just starting their career.

 

Lisa had worked as a carer for many years before joining Burton-based Home Instead Senior Care and starting her Apprenticeship. She works primarily in a day care centre where she supports elderly clients with dementia. Her role involves providing stimulating activities, care and companionship to ensure that clients have an enjoyable and interesting day. Lisa also works as a domiciliary caregiver for Home Instead visiting her clients in their own homes.

 

Lisa is completing a level 3 Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care with Acacia Training and has been nominated by her assessor for an Apprentice Star award.

 

Home Instead Senior Care owner John Winfieldale commends her approach. He says: “Lisa is very dependable, patient, willing to do anything and accommodating. She will always notice if a client is not engaging in an activity, and she will spend time with them to involve them and make sure they feel part of the group – she’s a good team player. Completing her apprenticeship has been hard at times, but Lisa has worked very hard and shown dogged determination.”

 

Home Instead Burton-on-Trent asks all the company’s employees to complete Apprenticeships. John explains: “Apprenticeships really work for us because we are able to recruit people who have a genuine passion for caring and develop them. Some of our employees have worked in care before, while others previously worked as accountants, shop keepers and metal shop body workers. The Apprenticeships give us that reassurance that our staff members will develop every aspect of their skills and knowledge to a high standard. No matter where else a staff member has worked before, or how long they have worked as a carer, we have a certain standard of competency that we know each staff member will hit in all areas of current health and social care practice. This ensures the highest possible standards of care for our clients.”

He adds: “Apprenticeships also help to ‘professionalise’ the care sector. Many care workers in the UK struggle to feel valued as skilled professionals and take pride in their work. They feel they are not viewed with the same esteem as doctors and nurses, yet they really make a difference in people’s lives. The Apprenticeship programmes help make our staff feel they do a valuable job, with all the underpinning knowledge they develop and the competencies they have to evidence.”

 

Lisa comments: “My apprenticeship has made me feel really motivated and confident of my professional standards. It has helped me reflect and categorise my knowledge.”

 

Congratulations on being today’s Star Apprentice Lisa!

 

Are you already working in the care or childcare sector and interested in completing an Apprenticeship to validate and enhance your existing skills and knowledge, leading to a professional qualification?

 

Acacia Training provides Apprenticeships, work-based training and short courses for new employees or those already working in the care, childcare and health and social care sectors. Contact us to find out how.

 

New to the sector and looking for an Apprentice role? We are teaming up with HC-One to recruit to a host of new apprenticeship vacancies across the East and West Midlands.

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