NNUH Recruitment Administrator is named the best Apprentice in the region

Samantha Jones, a Recruitment Administrator at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH), has won 'Apprentice of the Year' in the Advanced Apprentice Category in the Regionals of the National Apprenticeship and Training Awards 2012.

Samantha, 25, from Cromer, will now go up against some of the best Apprentices from across the country before the national awards ceremony which is being held in November. The awards recognise and reward the achievements of exceptional Apprentices and the businesses that employ them. The Trust was also awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the Macro Employer category for its work with Apprenticeships and Work Experience.

When Samantha was 16 she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and after realising her dream of having a career as a physical training instructor in the RAF was no longer achievable, she drifted from one part-time job to another. Then, through the Prince’s Trust, Samantha achieved qualifications that she missed out on at school and was offered a placement at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. She was immediately interested in the range of jobs that are carried out in the hospital.

Sam joined the Trust as Apprenticeship Administrator working with Training and Development Manager, Julia Watling and Apprenticeship Co-ordinator, Annie Cook, on the hospital’s Apprenticeship programme. Last year Samantha won the James Barney Foundation Breakthrough Award from the Prince’s Trust after turning her life around. This August Samantha started a new role as a Recruitment Administrator in the hospital’s HR department.

Sam said: “I am thrilled and very grateful to have won the award and feel that this is further proof of the great work of the Prince’s Trust, of whom I am very grateful. Without them, their partnership with NNUH and the support of Annie Cook, this would not have been possible. I am enjoying my new post and am very excited about my future career here. I hope this inspires other young people to work hard and achieve goals, despite the hand life may have dealt them.”

Dawn Cumby, Senior Human Resources Manager at NNUH, said: “We consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to recruit Sam to our Centralised Recruitment Service. Sam has proved herself to be a capable and confident young lady; she is enthusiastic about her work and very keen to learn and absorb every experience, making the most of the opportunities her role presents. Sam’s success in the regional category of the National Apprenticeship and Training Awards 2012 is testimony to her success and achievement through the Apprenticeship Programme.”

The National Apprenticeship and Training Awards ceremony will be held in November.