Senior leader reflections: Stephanie Parkes

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust runs Good Hope, Heartlands, Queen Elizabeth and Solihull hospitals, and Solihull community services.

I embarked on my career within the NHS around 22 years ago, starting out as an undergraduate coordinator within the Education department at Heartlands Hospital.?From here, my passion for learning and the development of careers within healthcare began to grow, which has led me to my current role of Work Experience and Education Support Manager.

As part of my personal and professional development, I have successfully completed qualifications in Business Administration, Teaching and Assessment, Internal Quality Assurance and Leadership and Management. This has enabled me to facilitate teaching sessions with our students and undertake assessments as part of the apprenticeship framework. Work experience has been the foundation of my portfolio since I began, so to have the ability to teach our students was important to me.

Before the former Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust merged with UHB, I managed the work experience programme and was responsible for the education of the healthcare assistants. This involved the design and delivery of a number of programmes for a diverse group of people wanting to learn more about healthcare careers and/or develop within them. This included the Care Certificate, of which I and my team had a fundamental role in its design, launch and delivery within the trust.?

When the two Trusts merged, my job was streamlined into management of work experience.

There are 350 different roles within the NHS that many people have no knowledge about. There are many students that attend career days who are not on the right course for them because they didn’t actually know what was out there for them to achieve. Our team provides insight into the vast opportunities available to students in innovative and accessible ways; we provide advice and support to ensure well informed choices can be made. To have the passion and ability to inspire people to work within the NHS makes me proud and the provision of work experience is a huge part of this. We work closely with local schools and colleges, helping them to build their own pathways into an NHS in the way that is right for them. This could be T levels (two-year courses which are taken after GCSEs and are broadly equivalent in size to three A Levels) or apprenticeships.

If I hadn’t had found my calling in the NHS, my aspiration would have been to be an archaeologist or history teacher. I have a passion for history…the history of the NHS included. I can honestly say that teaching the future workforce of the NHS is a privilege.

It’s sometimes difficult to get people to take a chance on an apprentice, especially a young person, as there is so much focus on young people lacking professionalism and experience which can hinder them from securing employment. We can forget that we all had to start somewhere in life. Many young adults lack experience because they have had difficult personal circumstances, lacked the opportunities or confidence to pursue the opportunities. Young people bring with them a wealth of information and innovation into the workplace that can facilitate continuous improvement, change and development which is a fundamental part of the success of the NHS since it began. Many of our students that have been given these opportunities have gone on to university to study a number of healthcare vocations such as nursing or midwifery. This just shows what opening the door to a career can help these students achieve.

School isn’t always right for everyone, and we all learn in different ways. I am testament to that, as I did not like the school environment and as a result I left school with no qualifications, which is ironic as I now promote education every day!

When I had my children, I decided that I wanted to broaden my own opportunities through gaining qualifications at Adult Learning Centres. Once I’d achieved this, I began looking to secure a job in an office, working around my children on a part-time basis. It was during this process of applying for many jobs, that I was fortunate to be given the opportunity at Heartlands Hospital. I remember Linda offering me the position of undergraduate administrator and I asked her why she had given me the chance, after all, I had no experience and wanted to work around my children which many people saw as restrictive. She said, even though I had young children at the time, my work ethic and attitude to taking responsibility for my own learning and seeking out opportunities to improve my skills had impressed her. She saw something in me that was worth giving me the opportunity and I thank her for that, to this day. So now, having been given that chance and the success I have been able to achieve in my career since, I want to provide young people with these opportunities too. It can literally be life-changing and knowing that I can help to make a difference is something very special to me.

I am a huge advocate for the ‘underdog’; those people that may get overlooked for a number of reasons. As a result, we visit many schools in diverse areas to ensure all demographics within the local communities have equal access to all we have to offer.

My advice to an apprentice would be to do something different each day that takes you out of your comfort zone.?Show up with a positive attitude and never be afraid to ask questions, or for help.?Fully embrace the opportunity that has been presented to you as you embark on your career journey within the NHS.

Apprentices bring a wealth of value to UHB. I’m currently undertaking one myself, Level 7 in Senior Leadership, and it has proven to be a valuable learning tool to progress my career. It has taught me how to look at the strategic and operational side of running a department in a more productive way. It has enabled me to think outside the box on things that I probably wouldn't ordinarily look at. I am also able to plan my projects in a more efficient manner. Apprenticeships are not just for young people, or people new to UHB – they are for any of our staff who wish to obtain a qualification, so they are equipped to progress in their careers.

That being said, I do think the young people are our future. They're the ones that are going to take the NHS forward.

The UHB Healthcare Careers and Development (HCCD) team can offer pastoral support to all new apprentices in over 40 job roles, providing advice and guidance regarding study strategies and techniques allowing apprentices to become confident and effective in the workplace.?The team provides a link to training providers and managers to ensure the quality and engagement of apprenticeship learning is relevant and consistent. Any difficulties that arise during an apprenticeship are discussed during regular meetings and, if necessary, as and when problems arise.?They are the link between managers and training providers to ensure a smooth and engaging experience for apprentices to achieve their award.

Are you interested in doing an apprenticeship at UHB? Find out more here: