DCG Success Stories

Learning & Development Advisor Rebekah Booth loved taking Derby College Group’s Level 3 Fast Track Teaching Award with her colleagues at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.

Rebekah, whose role involves teaching, has since gone on to design her own workshops for non-clinical apprentices, thanks to what she learned on the course.

Rebekah said: “The Trust likes those of us involved in learning and development to gain a teaching qualification. I found the Level 3 so beneficial, I got a lot out of it.

“I teach apprentices about attitudes and behaviours, feedback and civility, and document presentation on the workshops, and it was the DCG course that gave me the confidence to do that.

“Fast track learning is intense; it isn’t for everyone, but it worked well for me as I would much rather learn in one chunk.”

The course was held in-house at the Johnson Building and delivered by tutor Rhiannon Kelly, who, Rebekah said, was always supportive.

There were 12 people on the course, including hospital security staff who train security personnel on policies and procedures, a staff member who teaches pathology apprentices, and two colleagues in the Apprenticeship Team.

Rebekah added: “I found the neurodivergent side of teaching fascinating.

“The course opened my eyes to how people with, say, dyslexia learn. It made me think about how you would adapt the course for them, for example, designing the lesson plan to be less wordy and more visual.

Rebekah, who worked for the University of Derby for 21 years, joined UHDB in 2018 and worked in various departments, including the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinic and the Practice Learning Support Unit.

She then joined the Apprenticeship, Careers & Events Team as a Project Officer and has since been promoted to Learning & Development Advisor.

When she first took the role, Rebekah’s remit entailed looking at the work experience programme and streamlining its processes. More recently she has become involved in developing non-clinical apprentices, as well as the training and events aspects of career development within the NHS Trust.

The fast track course, comprising classroom learning and home studying, concluded with course members presenting to the group.

For her presentation, Rebekah focused on an onboarding initiative called Future Workforce Champion Training, which is being rolled out across the NHS Trust to encourage departments to look after their new staff.