From 10th to 16th February 2025, we are celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, a time to recognise the incredible impact apprenticeships have on individuals, businesses, and communities. This year’s theme, "Skills for Life," emphasises how important it is for apprentices to gain valuable knowledge and experience that will benefit them throughout their careers and beyond.
As Healthy Minds Apprentices, we play a significant role in supporting children and young people in schools and communities with their mental health and wellbeing. Our work includes shaping local mental health services, delivering awareness workshops, taking part in co-production, engaging in community action, and empowering young people through youth engagement.
Healthy Mind Apprentice Lois answered a few questions about why she became an apprentice, and what a day in the role looks like.
“I aspired to become an apprentice because I sought an experience and the chance to evaluate my performance in a professional setting. The combination of earning while learning was particularly appealing to me. Knowing I wanted to work with children in the future, this apprenticeship path has provided me with the essential experience that I would not have acquired through the "traditional" academic route.
What is a typical day like for me as an apprentice? Our office days kick off at 8:45, where we begin with a check-in to see how everyone's feelings and get ready for the day ahead. We often find ourselves quite busy, whether we are working on projects, collaborating in co-production, undergoing training, or visiting schools to present KCU. It is uncommon for two days to be alike!
In this position, I have gained vital skills needed in the career path I am wanting to take; confidence, punctuality and patience when working with children just to name a few. We have the opportunity to work with a variety of organisations, across Bradford, sharing our thoughts and ensuring that youth voice is heard – an opportunity I would have never been able to participate in if it were not for this apprenticeship. It has been an amazing experience and the things I have learnt will be carried with me throughout my life in roles to come.”
Healthy Mind Apprentice Usman, talked about how he found the opportunity and what the experience of getting the role was like.
“I chose to be a Healthy Mind Apprentice as I have previous experience of working in the mental health sector. I have worked as an ambassador for a mental health charity since 2023 and have worked in mental health research since 2021. Having this previous understanding about mental health I knew I wanted to continue to work in this field, my involvement previously was normally online, or I had to travel to London for any face-to-face work. Having the chance to work within Bradford and to create change within the city I live in, is amazing as I always thought I would have to travel or move to find a job in this sector. Working in it now, I realise how big the sector is in Bradford and how there are so many opportunities to work in mental health.
I found the apprenticeship, simply by searching up “mental health apprenticeship Bradford”, and there it was article after article of the previous cohorts' achievements, I am now in cohort 5 of the apprenticeship and my co-ordinator is an apprentice alum! Applying I thought I would have to get my CV ready, however all I had to do was go on the AllStar website, and fill out key information such as my name and answer three questions:
Why I wanted to apply for the Role?
What would make Bradford a better place for children and young people?
Tell us a bit more about yourself.
After answering, I chose to attend a Taster session where I met the team of people I would be working with if I was successful, such as my co-ordinator, line manager and marketing manager and got more information on what the role would look like and came up with some ideas that would help support children and young people's mental health within Bradford. I then got a call back saying that I had an interview if I wanted it. We had to prepare for the interview by creating a poster about supporting children and young people's mental health, I made mine in Canva and talked about wellbeing. There were four people interviewing me, my soon to be co-ordinator and line manager, the senior manager at the West Yorkshire Intergrated Care Board and the Marketing and communications manager for Healthy Minds Bradford. The interview lasted around 30 minutes and happened on a Monday in the summer of 2024, by Thursday that week I had a call back saying that I was successful, and my apprenticeship started in September.”
Healthy Mind Apprentice Muskaan talks about the skills we have gained from being an apprentice and how we can use these skills going forward.
“I wanted to do the Healthy Minds Apprenticeship because I have always known that I wanted to work with children and this opportunity gives me hands-on experience which will benefit me in my future career. Also, I do not work that well in academic environments because I struggle to learn just from sitting in a classroom having loads of information thrown at me. In this apprenticeship, because we are actively involved and gaining genuine experience, it allows me to learn and understand content better and develop my skills. It allows me to learn in a way that benefits me, gaining real-life experience whilst making a positive impact on children’s well-being. I grow both personally and professionally whilst being in an apprenticeship, which gives me confidence and many different knowledgeable skills for my future.
We are developing a wide range of valuable skills that will benefit us in our future. We use collaborative skills that improve every day because we work closely between ourselves and other organisations, sharing ideas, discussing ways in which we can help children, and working towards common goals. Gaining hands-on experience with children helps us understand their individual needs, develop patience, and learn how to adapt our approach to help them in the best possible way. Presenting to a classroom and engaging in public speaking allow us to build confidence to communicate clearly and effectively, which is essential when working with children. Teamwork plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth collaboration. Additionally, developing confidence through these experiences helps us to take initiative, handle responsibilities independently, and become strong role models for children. Altogether, these skills prepare us for future roles by promoting leadership, resilience, and strong social skills, all of which are highly valuable in any career path.”
Healthy Mind Apprentice Afsha has spoken about what qualifications we gain from our apprenticeship and what made her apply.
“The reason I chose to do a healthy minds apprenticeship was because it would allow me to gain more knowledge regarding mental health as a whole and how factors surrounding individuals can affect their mental health. This apprenticeship has also provided me with many different experiences from working in primary schools, secondary schools as well as doing placement in a youth centre with SEND children. Going forward, these experiences will benefit me when going into my chose path.
The apprenticeship route attracted me because prior to beginning this apprenticeship, I was confused on what I wanted to do career wise. I knew I wanted to go into university but didn’t know what I wanted to professionalise in. Which is when I found this healthy minds apprenticeship and I knew that I could go into this sector to not only gain knowledge about mental health and also gain experience in working with children and young people, but it would also give me some more time to think about what I clearly wanted to go if I decide to go university later.
Throughout this apprenticeship, we will have gained a level 2 qualification in understanding children and young people’s mental health as well as a level 2 in a counselling course. It is then our choice if we would like to continue onto the level 3 in the counselling course.
Wanting to learn more on national apprenticeship week visit: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/influencers/national-apprenticeship-week#
For more information on apprenticeship opportunities: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
Thank you for reading, see you next time!
The Healthy Minds apprentices.
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