Southport care home apprentice graduates after a year of hard work

Photo: Apprentice Jordenne Nealis, from Thomas Henshaw Court, is presented with her certificate by Katie Rankin, Anchor’s Qualifications and Apprenticeships Manager, at the apprenticeship scheme graduation ceremony.

Southport care home apprentice graduates after a year of hard work.

A carer from a care home in Southport received a certificate at a graduation ceremony on Thursday (27 April) to mark the completion of her one year’s apprenticeship.

Jordenne Nealis, 20, who works at Thomas Henshaw Court in Norwood Road, has been offered a permanent job as part of Anchor’s Apprenticeship.

Seventeen other apprentices who joined the scheme in June last year have also permanent roles with Anchor, which is England’s largest not-for-profit provider of care and housing for older people.

Jordenne said: “Working in care is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve learnt a lot over the past year and I feel I have already made a positive contribution to the lives of older people. I really enjoy my job.

“We are one big family: not just the staff but our residents, too. Our residents do not live in our workplace – we work in their home.”

Katie Rankin, Anchor’s Qualifications and Apprenticeships Manager, praised Jordenne for his commitment to improving the lives of older people.

She said: “The quality of apprentices coming through this programme has been outstanding. The young talent coming into our care homes through this programme has helped to invigorate our business and the lives of our residents. We are so proud to see how they are progressing and look forward to welcoming our new apprentices.”

The apprenticeship scheme is one of the initiatives Anchor has adopted to help professionalise the care sector and to address the predicted one million shortfall of carers by 2025.

The ceremony also marked Anchor reaching the final for the HR Excellence Awards 2017 for Best Youth Employment Initiative and Anchor being named Health and Social Care Employer of the Year by Learndirect.

For more information about Anchor’s apprenticeships scheme, please visit http://www.anchor.org.uk/careers/where-you-fit-in/apprenticeships