A new college placement initiative at The Cedars has been so successful that student Victoria has joined the service full-time.
Service Manager Jan Collins and her team welcomed Victoria to The Cedars for work experience organised through Sunderland College, where she studied.
She gained excellent experience and cultivated great relationships with the people supported at the service.
After completing her health and social care course, Victoria has become a full-time staff member.
Victoria said: “Working with Jan and the team at The Cedars helped me put my coursework into real-life perspective.
“The placement helped me realise how important it is to respect an individual’s choices when supporting them and how to promote person-centred care.
“Jan made sure I was completing the right amount of hours, Jan was there if I needed anything, and even helped me complete my placement booklet to hand to my lecturer.
“I stayed on as bank staff, and then I got offered a full-time contract, which I accepted.”
After such a positive experience with Victoria, Jan has organised for two more college students to do placements at The Cedars in 2023.
She is confident that Victoria will be instrumental in helping the newcomers to get as much out of their experiences as she has.
Jan said: “It means the world to us to get such great feedback from Victoria – we are very proud of her.
“She’s established an excellent relationship with the people we support and her colleagues.
“Now she’ll be supporting people coming through the same route here and can help them achieve too.
“We’ve been delighted with how successful Victoria’s placement has been and look forward to welcoming our new students in 2023.”
