Learner case study: Natalie Riley
|
|
Not in the right career? It’s OK to change path!
|
“I had a false start on the wrong path but a switch to learning on the job as an apprentice has given me the best springboard for a career I love.” |
Access Training has supported hundreds of apprentices in completing their Level 2, 3 and 5 Team Leader/Supervisor qualifications.
This is the story of Natalie Riley, Programme Coordinator for Patient Safety and Medicines Optimisation, at East Midlands Academic Health Science Network. |
“My early career was, quite literally, carved out for me. Like many school leavers, I felt I needed to make a decision there and then about my eventual career. My weekend job as a part-time chef led me into studying this vocation at college. Looking back, it wasn’t my patisserie ability that led me to make this choice; it was the expectation to pursue a subject in which I excelled.
Two events led me to question my decision: the first was an enforced 6-month break through a fractured wrist. The second was the satisfaction I got from supporting a class teaching adults with special needs to bake.
I realised that I wanted to somehow make a difference and spent the next six years working in a special needs care home. My final role as team leader was rewarding but the long hours meant little time spent with my (future) husband.
I started to look at roles in the NHS. Having lost a close family friend to bowel cancer, one particular advert jumped out at me: Screening Officer at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. I was successful in securing the role but knew I needed to accelerate my learning to progress further. With the help of Access Training, I undertook my Team Leader/ Supervisor Level 2 apprenticeship in 2016.
Qualified for promotion
Knowledge and experience gained through my qualification prepared me for the challenges of people management ahead of my promotion to Senior Screening Officer only six months later. My studies taught me that the ideal project does not only involve the best or quickest performers; everyone in the team has a unique skill to bring.
In 2017, I had the opportunity of secondment to the Patient Safety Collaborative hosted by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network.
My Trainer Assessor at Access Training, Lisa Rooks, encouraged me to undertake my Team Leader/ Supervisor Level 3 at the same time. There’s a certain discipline involved in submitting coursework on time whilst in a full-time job but Lisa was always at the end of the phone with words of encouragement. Having such solid mentorship from her and my line manager really supported me during any period of self doubt.
Simultaneously embarking on my secondment and next level of qualification, which included modules on project management specific relevance to my role, had a synergistic effect: the role gave me the evidence I needed to complete my apprenticeship; and the apprenticeship supported my application in securing a permanent post once the secondment came to an end.
It’s OK to change path!
My advice to any young person facing decisions on their career path: don’t worry if you don’t have a firm idea yet of what you want to do!
I had a false start on the wrong path but a switch to learning on the job as an apprentice has given me the best springboard for a career I love.”
Two events led me to question my decision: the first was an enforced 6-month break through a fractured wrist. The second was the satisfaction I got from supporting a class teaching adults with special needs to bake.
I realised that I wanted to somehow make a difference and spent the next six years working in a special needs care home. My final role as team leader was rewarding but the long hours meant little time spent with my (future) husband.
I started to look at roles in the NHS. Having lost a close family friend to bowel cancer, one particular advert jumped out at me: Screening Officer at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. I was successful in securing the role but knew I needed to accelerate my learning to progress further. With the help of Access Training, I undertook my Team Leader/ Supervisor Level 2 apprenticeship in 2016.
Qualified for promotion
Knowledge and experience gained through my qualification prepared me for the challenges of people management ahead of my promotion to Senior Screening Officer only six months later. My studies taught me that the ideal project does not only involve the best or quickest performers; everyone in the team has a unique skill to bring.
In 2017, I had the opportunity of secondment to the Patient Safety Collaborative hosted by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network.
My Trainer Assessor at Access Training, Lisa Rooks, encouraged me to undertake my Team Leader/ Supervisor Level 3 at the same time. There’s a certain discipline involved in submitting coursework on time whilst in a full-time job but Lisa was always at the end of the phone with words of encouragement. Having such solid mentorship from her and my line manager really supported me during any period of self doubt.
Simultaneously embarking on my secondment and next level of qualification, which included modules on project management specific relevance to my role, had a synergistic effect: the role gave me the evidence I needed to complete my apprenticeship; and the apprenticeship supported my application in securing a permanent post once the secondment came to an end.
It’s OK to change path!
My advice to any young person facing decisions on their career path: don’t worry if you don’t have a firm idea yet of what you want to do!
I had a false start on the wrong path but a switch to learning on the job as an apprentice has given me the best springboard for a career I love.”
Share this post
