NAW Lillie's story

For National Apprenticeship Week, we're shining a spotlight on the inspiring journeys of colleagues across NCH&C who have taken bold steps to grow, retrain, and build meaningful careers through apprenticeships. Lillie, whose career path from administration apprentice to frontline care shows just how transformative apprenticeships can be.

Lillie's interest in healthcare grew gradually-but with certainty. After many personal encounters in hospital settings, she found herself inspired by the compassion, skill, and confidence shown by nurses and healthcare assistants.

I had been into the hospital lots and seen the nurses and HCAs work and thought that this would be an excellent career choice.

One thing she knew from the start was that her heart wasn't in the acute setting. Instead, NCH&C's community focused approach immediately resonated with her. When an apprenticeship opportunity arose, the pathway felt like the perfect fit.

Before stepping into her apprenticeship, Lillie already worked within NCH&C though in a very different role. She worked as a administration apprentice for the Clinical Education Team often hearing first hand accounts from learners about how much they were developing.

 I used to complete the admin regarding the apprentices and listened to their stories I knew straight away this is what I wanted to do.

Throughout her apprenticeships, Lillie has gained a huge range of hands on clinical skills that have shaped her confidence and capability.

From learning to take urine samples and redress wounds to observing catheter insertion, the combination of study and practice has helped her grow quickly.

I've learnt how to give patients the care they need and how to communicate with them and their relatives at difficult times, especially in end of life care.

These skills such as compassion, communication, reassurance are critical to patient care.

Lillie speaks openly about the challenges she's faced along the way, from workplace issues to moments of self doubt. But she credits her manager, the Career Development team, and Clinical Education for helping her navigate each hurdle.

I had lots of support It made a real difference, especially when dealing with workplace issues.

Working closely with nurses, physios, and other professionals has also helped her problem solve and grow from every situation.

Her ambition? To progress onto the Trainee Nursing Associate (TNA) programme and continue developing her clinical career.