We marked National Apprenticeship Week earlier this month and it has inspired us to take a look back at one of the apprentices we featured last year, who is now a permanent member of the DHU Healthcare team.
Khloe Glover joined us as a Business Administration Apprentice in 2021 and we met her last year in the very early stages of her apprenticeship. Khloe has since been appointed as a Junior Administrator in October, changed to Urgent Care Administrator this January to cement what has been an incredible year for her.
She told us: “I hadn’t been here long when I spoke about my apprenticeship last year, I joined pretty much straight from sixth form and was based at Fosse House in Leicester. I think I said at the time that I didn’t want to go to university and had been doing a few temporary jobs before seeing this opening at DHU and applied.
“It’s been an exciting year for me and I have learnt a lot about what it means to have a job, what work is like outside of school and the different levels of responsibility. I was so pleased to be offered a role full time, I got it before I even finished my apprenticeship, and it’s given me such a boost to know that the people I worked with clearly thought I was doing a good enough job, enough to want to keep me on.
“I managed to pass my apprenticeship, which was a Level Three Business Admin Apprenticeship, getting a merit for my presentation and a pass for my knowledge test. I was really pleased with that and it was worth all of the work and effort.
“Since starting just over a year ago I’ve gradually increased my responsibilities, even leading on some parts of projects and pieces of work which is a big thing for me. When I started I was just beginning to learn about how to use email, spreadsheets and pull together reports. Now I am more involved, attending more meetings both in person and over Teams, updating project groups such as the staff flu vaccination programme and learning about how other areas of work come into the wider plan. I speak for the team and for myself so my confidence has grown, it can be nerve-wracking but when I think of where I was this time last year, I’ve come a long way.
“It’s a very different way of learning to what I imagine university would be like, which is probably similar to school or college, learning about subjects and theory. I’ve been able to experience what it’s like to work, the hours, the responsibility and what it means to be part of a team. It’s as much a part of learning as the work itself and I feel I’m ahead of where I might have been as a result.
“I also know what it means to be part of an organisation and the people here at DHU, my colleagues, are great, welcoming and flexible. There is a lot to do and everything is explained so I know how what I do fits into what DHU is doing for its patients. There are lots of ways to progress, I’ve been a part of that with my apprenticeship, and I’ve already spoken to my manager about what might be next. Some of it will depend on how the team evolves. I’m an Urgent Care Administrator so if the team grows further, there could be a Senior Admin role or Team Leader that in time and with more experience I might be able to go for. For now, I’m happy doing what I’m doing and learning as I go, there’s still a lot to learn but I feel I’m in the right place.
“If you’re looking at an apprenticeship and wondering if it’s for you then my advice would to go for it. The money’s not great, although you are getting paid to learn, but it’s worth it for a year as the experience you get from actually working within an organisation is worth more than that and it’s given me a place to start my career.”
Thanks to Khloe for telling us about her role and keep your eyes peeled for DHU’s next #WhatDoYouDo.
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