12 minute read
BREAKING DOWN THE UCAS APPLICATION
CAREER GOALS: ON THE FRONTLINE
Starting your career in healthcare has never been easier with an apprenticeship from the second-largest health board in Scotland, NHS Lothian. Here, one student shares her experiences of working on the frontline during a pinnacle moment in healthcare
Do you remember Tamara? Tamara Kamal, a clinical support worker with NHS Lothian, was first introduced to Source readers in March 2020. Tamara was doing her Modern Apprenticeship (MA) in Healthcare (Clinical) SVQ Level 2 at the time to pursue her ambition of becoming a registered nurse.
A MA is a fantastic way to learn whilst you earn and get handson experience in your desired career. For Tamara, working on her apprenticeship gave her the skills and experience in both clinical and non-clinical healthcare support worker roles. This left Tamara in a fantastic position to showcase her new skills.
Tamara was working in a bustling acute surgical ward at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh while balancing her MA studies.
After our last meeting with Tamara, the world as we knew it changed, and we have all been living with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic since. Working during COVID-19 has been a time like no other for those on the frontline in healthcare, and for Tamara, it has meant adapting to a new challenge whilst working towards her dream role.
Tamara explains: “Working on the very frontline of the pandemic has been nothing short of frightening. You’re faced with the loss of life almost every day, which has a serious impact on your mental health.”
Despite the obvious challenges faced by frontline staff, particularly frontline healthcare workers, Tamara has been guided throughout her MA by her NHS Lothian colleagues.
“Thankfully, my training has helped me during these difficult times, and I’ve had the support of my team,” Tamara enthuses. “They’ve always pushed me in the right direction throughout my apprenticeship – I owe it all to them.”
STRENGTH
Even in the face of these hurdles, Tamara has gone from strength to strength in her career.
She has gone on to complete her MA, even winning the Scottish Apprenticeship Award for Modern Apprentice of the Year Level 6 +. This achievement is down to the true dedication, commitment and resilience Tamara has shown through the pandemic in her role and studies.
Tamara has now taken the next step towards her career ambitions by participating in a HNC in care and administration, which will grant her direct admission to university in order to complete her nursing degree.
From her time working during the pandemic and completing her MA, Tamara advises: “It is incredibly important for everyone to be made more aware of the opportunities presented by apprenticeships, no matter your background. Apprenticeships provide a path to careers that most people would never have thought of pursuing; I certainly didn’t, and now I’m on course to become a nurse.”
Are you ready to discover a career helping your local community by providing quality care?
FIND OUT MORE
Start your career with NHS Lothian by visiting @NHS_Lothian and @yourNHSLfuture; for more information, email apprenticeships@
nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
Modern Apprenticeship Opportunities
Did you know that NHS Scotland is the largest employer in Scotland with over 300 job roles and career opportunities? From Nursing based roles to those within Estates or Pharmacy, there are career opportunities to suit everyone.
We recognise the value that everyone brings to our organisation. We have a wide range of jobs at entry level and offer great opportunities such as modern apprenticeships across a range of specialities and various levels!
If you have an interest in an exciting role, where you can really make a difference, one of our Modern Apprenticeship opportunities may be for you! We recruit to a range of MA roles across NHS Lothian during the year and we have plans for 3 cohorts in 2022: Cohort 1: Advert Live – Friday 7 January 2022 Start Date – Monday 28 March 2022 Cohort 2: Advert Live – Friday 13 May 2022 Start Date – Monday 1 August 2022 Cohort 3: Advert Live – Friday 16 September 2022 Start Date – Monday 5 December 2022 For more information on the types of MA roles we have on offer, look at our website or get in touch with the team and we would be delighted to provide advice and support: Visit: careers.nhslothian.scot/workforcedevelopment email: careersforall@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk Vacancies: https://apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk
@NHS_Lothian, @yourNHSLfuture
Earn Learn Progress
SKILLS
You can build on the skills you are good at AMBITION
You can match your skills to those we need
STRENGTH
You can support your career goals INTEREST
You can develop your interests into a career
YOUR NEXT STEPS: grad schemes explained grad schemes explained
Wondering what your next steps should be a er higher education? Enter graduate schemes: work-based training with a di erence
Once you fi nish your degree there’s plenty of ways to put it to good use, even if you’re not quite sure what path you want to follow yet. Applying for a graduate scheme will allow you to utilise your learning whilst gaining valuable experience: it’s a win, win.
WHAT IS A GRAD SCHEME?
Graduate schemes are a great way for recent university graduates to gain practical experience with a company, all while giving them a head start in the world of work and getting paid. The opportunities usually last between one and three years, but this can depend on the company you choose to apply to and the industry.
If you are about to leave higher education, or have recently completed a degree, but you aren’t sure what path is right for you, a graduate scheme could be the perfect choice. As well as training, it gives you breathing space and using blended learning, creates a nice transition between higher education and the world of work. Many leading employers run graduate training programmes in industries including fi nance, engineering and business management.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
A graduate scheme comes with lots of positives, not just the space to decide what you defi nitely want to do in your career. They provide you with the chance to network, build connections and skills, and you could even end up with the offer of a permanent job role at the end. Regardless of whether you pursue the same industry or make a change, it will also give your CV a boost in the future and help you to stand out from other candidates looking to get into any fi eld.
Even though you’ll still be attending classes and learning, you count as an employed member of staff during a graduate scheme so you will be paid for all of your hard work. Often, graduate schemes offer generous incomes which are competitive with entry positions in the world of work.
EMBRACING OPPORTUNITIES WITH BDO
Providing graduate programmes in Audit and Assurance, Advisory, Tax or Business Services and Outsourcing, BDO will take you from induction to qualifi cation while combining study with work. In 2021, the accountancy and business advisory fi rm welcomed a record number of trainees, with more than 600 people joining the company across graduate and apprenticeship programmes.
Rachel, who studied accounting at university, is embarking on the third year of her ACA training programme with the company in their Glasgow offi ce. After passing all of your exams, the programmes provided by BDO allow you to become a fully-fl edged accountant with a level 7 qualifi cation – this is equivalent to a master’s degree – and there are permanent positions available with the company at the end.
“I’ve gotten to build on things I knew but also learn more complex things: you start with the basics and build yourself up,” reveals Rachel.
One of the main benefi ts of a grad scheme, Rachel is able to study while she works and transfer her learning to real experiences.
“Sometimes when you go to class things don’t make sense, but then you get to put it into practice at work and it’s no longer alien to you,” emphasises Rachel. “It’s been
You start with the basics and build yourself up
a nice way to start the world of work, it’s a training contract so you’re not expected to go in and know how to do everything, it’s a space where you can make mistakes and ask questions. It also means you are put through all of your exams and classes in order to qualify.
“It gives you that time to pick your focus while you qualify, to work on any weaknesses you have.”
When looking into different programmes, BDO stood out against other fi rms for Rachel due to the company’s size and the breadth of experience it could give her.
“You have the balance of exposure to really large jobs which is a great experience and so interesting but you also have the opportunity on small jobs to develop yourself,” reveals Rachel. “It’s not just being a wheel in a system doing the same thing over and over again, it just has the balance.”
More than just a training opportunity, Rachel vouches for the friendliness of the BDO staff and has had the chance to learn from her peers since day one, she says: “You get to meet so many people during the placements that you can speak to about anything you haven’t experienced yet. It gives you the opportunity to see the bigger picture.
“It gives you a year group as well so there could be 10 of you all doing the same thing, having a shared experience,” continues Rachel. “I feel like it’s similar to school or uni where you have your year group and you’re all in it together. I think that’s such a big benefi t instead of going straight into a job where you may be the only person they’ve hired that year and it’s just you doing exams yourself.”
With a wealth of opportunities available, could a graduate programme at BDO be your next step? Find out more at www.BDO.co.uk
FIND OUT MORE Search for your perfect grad scheme at www.graduate-jobs.com
LANDING A PART-TIME JOB
From weekend jobs to summerlong opportunities, part-time work is a great way to earn money and gain experience while you’re still at school
OPPORTUNITY
Getting a part-time job might seem boring in comparison to spending time with your friends or doing hobbies that you love, but it’s a great way to build skills, connections and confi dence, and there’s plenty of other benefi ts, too. One of the main ones is that you will have the chance to earn money to spend on the things you love or to save towards your future, whatever your path.
The fi rst step is fi nding out who is hiring and deciding what type of role is right for you. If you live in a rural area and don’t have your own transport or a family member to pick you up, avoid long shifts and late hours. Or, if like us you value your weekend lie-ins, consider a position that you can attend after school or only one day on the weekends.
There’s plenty of ways to fi nd your next role, job boards like Indeed (uk. indeed.com) and S1 jobs (www.s1jobs. com) advertise part-time jobs as well as permanent positions, and it’s helpful to look at the social media for shops and restaurants in your local area in case they’re hiring. Don’t be afraid to get your name out there or ask if there are positions available somewhere that you go regularly.
A part-time gig could be anything you want, you could go old school and mow your neighbours’ lawns for a tenner, or fi nd a role in an area that you’re passionate about. Whatever you do, you will gain great transferable skills that will go on to benefi t you in your future.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
No matter the part-time job that you take, you will gain new skills, experience and knowledge that will go on to benefi t you at school, in higher education applications and when you apply for permanent positions in the future, even if they’re not in similar industries. This could be things like time-keeping, reliability, being able to work as a team and problem-solving.
You could also gain job-specifi c skills or qualifi cations, or even be inspired to pursue a different career once you leave school based on your experiences.
CAREER PATH
If you already have a dream career path in mind, you might be able to fi nd a part-time job that’s a perfect fi t. For example, if you want to study veterinary science, you could work part-time as a receptionist in your local surgery and gain valuable insight, or if you want to style celebs for red carpets when you’re older, look for a retail job in a store that offers a personal shopping service. The search for a part-time job is the perfect time to get creative and show how ambitious you can be.
Tailoring your new job to your future career will mean you gain specifi c and valuable experience which could make you stand out from other candidates.
FIND OUT MORE Alongside advice on landing your dream career in the future, My World of Work (www.myworldofwork.co.uk) provides advice and information on fi nding a part-time job.
