60 seconds with... Kaylie Devlin, our Community Opportunities Co-ordinator
Tell me about your background. How did you come to the Community Opportunities Co-ordinator role?
I grew up and live in the Isle of Dogs, east London. When I was 18, I finished my A-Levels but was very unsure about pursuing higher education and what career pathway to take. The two things I was certain about was that I wanted to work and I wanted to help my local area in some way so I started a business admin apprenticeship in the Public Health Team in 2012. Since then I have attained numerous qualifications and have progressed from admin/project support roles to the current position of Community Opportunities Co-ordinator. This is exactly where I wanted to be… I now work closely with a wide range Trust stakeholders to create opportunities in the lower bands for local people of all backgrounds. These include B2-3 roles and apprenticeships – the latter being something that changed my life and helped me start out with a career in the NHS.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
With great pride I see the positive impact of our lower bands being filled by local talent. It’s a team effort; my colleague Anna Szkola, our community employment lead, works with local partners to train local talent to fill our roles.
What is the greatest challenge you face at work?
The apprenticeship programme has grown significantly over the last few years but it is still little understood by hiring managers. One of my missions is to generate awareness around the benefits of this programme particularly around the hire of local people.
Who inspires you?
My team inspires me. We are resilient and relentless in our mission. We convince other teams who already do some excellent work and have so much on their plate to sign up to our local recruitment agenda and it’s not always easy but it’s worth it.
If you would like to find more about what Kaylie does and help with the local recruitment agenda you can contact her on 0207 377 7424.