Hospital colleagues take home accolades at local apprenticeship awards

Hosted this year during February’s National Apprenticeship Week, the annual awards evening at Doncaster College offered a great opportunity to celebrate the success of learners and granted employers who support with facilitating local apprentice roles, including DBTH, a platform to champion colleagues and their notable achievements. 

Emily Watkinson, Medical Imaging Support Team Receptionist at DBTH, received the ‘Health, Public Services and Care Apprentice of the Year Award’ for her fantastic contributions to the Trust’s Education Team whilst completing her Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship.

Emily embarked on her apprenticeship opportunity with DBTH when she left sixth form. After spotting the listing on the NHS Jobs website, Emily decided that the opportunity to earn whilst continuing to learn was the best route for her personal career journey and was successful in applying for the position.

During her apprenticeship she primarily worked with members of the training and vocational team within the Trust’s Education Department, supporting with organising vocational opportunities for wider colleagues alongside regular administrative duties. The Education Team were on hand every step of her apprenticeship journey to provide advice and guidance with her studies and support with gathering evidence.

This experience helped her to secure her current receptionist role where she employs her customer service skills on a daily basis to provide an excellent front-facing service to patients visiting the department. 

Reflecting upon her apprenticeship, Emily said: “I would really recommend completing an apprenticeship at DBTH. It has been a great way for me to kickstart my career in the NHS and learn new skills and knowledge. The opportunity has given me such a confidence boost which I don’t think I could be successful in my role without. Thank you to everyone in the Education Team for your support.”

Sarah Sutherland, Procurement Buyer, received the ‘Higher Apprenticeship Award’ for her amazing professional development whilst completing her Level 3 Team Leader Apprenticeship.

Working as Admin Team Lead within the Orthotics Department, Sarah had been working as an administrative colleague at DBTH for fifteen years when she first came across the apprenticeship opportunity in the weekly staff newsletter.

Approaching 50, Sarah was sceptical about what more she could learn in her role and was initially held back by the preconception that apprenticeships were exclusively for school leavers or younger colleagues. After deliberation, Sarah decided to embrace the mentality that it is never too late to start something new and applied for the opportunity.

Sarah faced challenges on her learning journey when it was transferred online during the pandemic, however, she adapted quickly and utilised a wealth of resources open to her through the Trust.

Sarah said: “I would really encourage everyone to take that step, it’s definitely worth it. I was blown away by the learning opportunities out there and how they can benefit not only yourself but everyone around you too. Whilst I was so surprised to win the award, I know I’ve worked hard for it and I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to achieve.”

Since successfully applying for the apprenticeship role Sarah has never looked back, taking strides in her professional development and achieving a distinction in her qualification. Sarah now works within the Trust’s Procurement Team, a role which she enjoys and credits to the confidence and knowledge gained from completing her apprenticeship.

Zoe Lintin, Chief People Officer at DBTH, said: “Congratulations Emily and Sarah on this fantastic achievement and deserving recognition of your hard work. It is great to see colleagues progressing in their career journey with us and taking advantage of the exciting development opportunities available to colleagues both new and already a part of our team.”  

“If colleagues have been inspired by the achievements of Sarah and Emily, we encourage them to initiate discussions with their line-manager during their next appraisal and get in touch with the Vocational Team to learn more about the opportunities and support available.”