A student apprentice at the University of Salford has spoken about being inspired to change her career after her mum was diagnosed with cancer.
It’s National Apprenticeship Week and we are highlighting some of the amazing students who juggling work and study. Among them is Ella Jones, who is in the first year of a three-year apprenticeship at Salford, and is training to become a biomedical scientist.
Ella spends four days working as an Associate Practitioner in the Histopathology cancer labs at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester and one day a week studying in the state-of-the-art facilities at the University of Salford.
The programme has been designed to produce graduates that are skilled, knowledgeable and employment ready as a HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist, and graduates will not incur the usual student debt that most students finish their studies with.
Ella said: “I really feel like I’m helping people and learning at the same time. I have personal experience with anxiously awaiting results and diagnosis, as my mum had thyroid cancer. It motivates me every day, the harder I work the more I feel I help people like my mum who bravely face what they are challenged with.
“We are doing modules that a strongly related to my job. I can apply it to my job and that just makes the learning that much easier and more meaningful as I can put it into practice straight away.
My favourite thing so far, enjoy being able to come to university for the day. I love all the things I’m learning here. I’m not as knowledgeable as it thought but I’m learning loads and getting better.”
Asked what advice she would give to anyone thinking of joining the course, Ella said: “Pursue it head on, be confident in yourself. If you’re passionate about science there are plenty of ways into a career.”
Tahmina Hussain, Programme Lead for the Biomedical Science Degree Apprenticeship at the University of Salford, said: “It is fantastic to see apprentices like Ella who are so passionate about the biomedical science profession. Watching them grow and develop into competent biomedical scientists is the most rewarding part of my role.”
At the University of Salford we work with nearly 300 different employers and have a total of 670 Apprentices across a range of fields. Find out more about Salford apprenticeships in Science, Engineering, Construction and Biomedicine: https://www.salford.ac.uk/apprenticeships
