Communications Assistant Review

I am responsible for the marketing and promotion of apprenticeships within Solent NHS Trust. This role involves creating social media posts which promote a positive image of our courses, creating promotional material such as leaflets and business cards, and working with the larger Communications Team to link apprenticeships with the overall marketing strategy.

I already had pre existing skills in digital creation, ranging from Photography, Videography, Photo and Video Editing, graphic design and video animations. However, the apprenticeship has allowed me the space to develop these skills and figure out how to adapt them to a corporate environment. I have really grown confident in my ability to create content in a professional setting.

I enjoy the support I have towards developing and learning new skills. I am actively encouraged to seek out new and exciting ways to create content, and this allows me to feel like I can be as creative as possible. This in turn leads to a better product, as I begin to think outside of the box.

Overall, the programme is well organised. Unfortunately, there were issues on the training provider side which had pushed me back on my course. I was put onto a fast track structure, but this has been difficult to manage to my ever expanding job role. Solent NHS Trust have been incredibly supportive throughout this process, offering extra time for me to work on my college projects.

I receive nothing but support from my employer. When I first joined the trust, I did not have a high level of confidence in my creative abilities, but after being supported, I have improved immensely. Any time I have an issue, there is always someone I can turn to for support.

I received a good level of support from my training provider. He has helped to give me an overview of necessary changes to make to my college projects. I did go without a training provider mid way through my course after the initial trainer left the company. This left me without the college perspective to support me, but they did get me back on track once it was sorted out.

I believe that the qualification offers a solid introduction into the world of Marketing. It helps the learner to understand the processes and reasoning behind choosing a certain social media platform, or which marketing strategy is suited for which needs. I think it could be improved by offering up to date training for beginner content creation in areas that the employer might not offer, and to give some insight into the academic reasoning behind why a graphic is designed the way it is. This is information that could be missed from an employer.

There are social activities. With Covid-19 still being an issue for the NHS, strict guidelines are followed to prevent illnesses. This is understandable and the Trust does do a good job offering fitness classes and resources to help improve mental and occupational health. I think more could be done for networking and social events.

Yes

I would recommend Solent NHS Trust to a friend because it offers a great career path for those who are interested. Not only that, but they will actively seek to train and support the individual to gain the necessary skills for that next step in their career. If you are looking for career progression then this is the place to work.

Seek out the training opportunities, as you will be able to work whilst also developing any skills you might need for the future. It becomes more difficult and exhausting to accomplish this in your spare time as you begin to work, so being able to learn as part of the job role is a huge advantage.