Vicky has worked within Team NWAS since 2018. She has gone from working in our Urgent Care Team to being an emergency medical technician 1 (EMT1) apprentice, to EMT1 to now in the final year of her paramedic apprenticeship course. We catch up with her to find out more about her career journey and how her roles to date, including her EMT1 apprenticeship role, really have been a stepping stone to achieving her dreams.

“I first thought about becoming a paramedic around 2016, I knew I wanted a career to help people. I looked to apply to university but unfortunately as I had been out of education for some years I couldn’t get onto the course. I was a stay-at-home mum at the time and had taken a career break whilst I had two small children. When I looked to go back into employment, I found it hard as I had no recent experience on my CV. 

“I joined the Army Reserve as an army medic in my free time to help gain skills and experience. This then helped me to get a job in a care home. When I was away on army training, I met a paramedic from West Midlands, I still really desired to become a paramedic and this fuelled me once again to look at my options. My friend’s wife worked for NWAS and she told me about the different roles for entry. I then applied for the then ‘new’ EMT role but for some reason, my application didn’t go through, and I missed the deadline. I decided not to give up or wait so applied for the urgent care role with NWAS to use this as a stepping stone. NWAS helped me gain my C1 driving qualification in November 2017, and I started on urgent care in January 2018. 

“When I joined NWAS, apprenticeships were new and no one had really heard of them. Later that same year the EMT1 apprenticeships became advertised and I applied and got through the application process. I began as an EMT apprentice in July 2018. I worked hard on the course and managed to complete all of the coursework and studies with my end goal to look to become a paramedic. You need two years’ experience after finishing your EMT 1 apprenticeships to get onto the paramedic apprenticeship course.

“After two years, I applied for the paramedic apprenticeship course and started in October 2021. NWAS is paying for my degree and my dream job of becoming a paramedic. I am in my final year of university with a look to qualify in October 2023.

“I started my journey at age 28 and have small children to look after, but if you want to go for it the opportunities are there, you just need to be determined. I like the fact that every day is different, those who know me know how chatty I am and how much I love meeting and talking to people. My favourite part of the role is being able to help people when they need it most. Some of the jobs we go to can be difficult, but we come together as a ‘green’ family to support each other.”

Our vacancy for the EMT1 apprentice is now open.