Hospital recruiter hails apprenticeship as 'best decision I ever made'
An apprentice who is helping to recruit staff at Shropshire's hospitals has said doing the qualification is the best career decision she has made.
Natasha Rawlings is helping to recruit staff for Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
The 26-year-old, a former Telford Priory School student who now lives in Shrewsbury, is studying business administration at Telford College.
She said: “Thanks to my studies, I am now a business and administration recruitment advisor for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and my team looks after the recruitment of all non-medical staff.
“I’ve already completed my level two qualification, and when I’ve completed level three I’m planning to have a year off before I start Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualifications so I can progress in human resources.”
Natasha’s main duties include processing job offer and confirmation letters, and other stages of the recruitment cycle, including carrying out ID and DBS checks on candidates.
Enjoy
“For anyone considering an apprenticeship, I’d say go for it – it puts you in a work environment and you gain upfront experience of the sort of work you will be going into if you receive a permanent offer at the end of your placement,” said Natasha.
“My apprenticeship is the best thing I’ve done to progress my career, and it’s something I really enjoy.”
Natasha’s assessor, Elaine Gamble, said: “Natasha has managed extremely well during the ongoing Covid pandemic, especially in view of the fact that she works within the recruitment department for the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals.
“She is often working with a high-pressure workload, and is still continuing to perform her duties to the standard required, with accuracy and tenacity.
“Natasha has managed to continue with her coursework throughout the pandemic, and she has an excellent eye for detail.
“She has come up with some really good ideas for her coursework which will all help her to complete her level three qualification and move forward to a CIPD qualification in the future.”
