Our apprentice Molly has been a fantastic resource to the team and she’s shown great initiative and motivation in leading on various projects. For example, coordinating staff participation and organising an event for our Time to Change Islington programme.  

Her experience of Islington as a resident who was actively involved in the Early Childhood Area Partnership has been really useful as she brings a wealth of experiences that informs her role with us. I think it is a good example of how local participation can lead into work so in this respect Molly is a great role model for others. 

I’ve been really pleased to be able to work with a resident who has previously been actively involved in local service improvement, and to help them think about how they can draw on their skills and experience in the workplace and build their confidence further. 

The pandemic produced some challenges, for instance, not being able to meet and have that real-life connection to support apprentices in person. We made sure we kept in touch on a regular basis and I ensured they knew they could contact me at any time. During these conversations we invested time in getting to know each other and supported them in home working.  

Apprentices provide very solid and proactive day-to-day business support to the team, especially during the last few months. Molly gave us invaluable business support for some time by helping the Health Protection Group and the Test Track and Trace meetings and workshops. She also provides ongoing business support to the Islington’s Fairer Together Borough Partnership which has been coordinating borough–wide support to the pandemic response including emergency support to residents, and the rollout of the vaccination programme.