Adam Khalaf - Level 6 Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship

"I have always wanted to pursue a career in social work but never found the right opportunity to do so. I was working full time and didn’t have the financial means to do a degree. When the apprenticeship was available at my workplace, I jumped up at the chance! This was the opportunity for collaboration between studying and working. I could continue to remain financially able while developing myself and investing in my passion and future.

"I have worked in social care for over 15 years and have developed many skills and been in several teams with an array of different experiences but found there to be a lack of male representation in social work. The apprenticeship was a perfect foundation to allow me to pursue my dreams, further develop my knowledge, skills, and behaviours, and apply what I learned on the apprenticeship to my work. In addition, it allowed me to share what I learned with others in my team to enhance the skills of those around me."

"This is hard to pinpoint, but if I could say everything, I would! Firstly, the teaching staff are so passionate about the material they are teaching; you can feel the investment they see in us as students. They have a wealth of experience with so much practical knowledge, skills, and behaviours to impart on us, and have a commitment to help us grow and thrive.

"As a student with dyslexia, there has been constant support regarding accessibility to ensure that I am not at any kind of disadvantage. Everyone is so friendly and there is always help to those who need it. The energy and culture are all about ensuring everyone achieves their full potential and that kind of atmosphere makes it a good place to learn and flourish. There is a full spectrum of representation within NTU, with a true celebration of diversity and individual difference."

"The apprenticeship is all about application of what we are learning and putting into practice. Because I am still working, I can demonstrate and share my knowledge and skills in my workplace, which is making me more confident and assertive in my own ability. Prior to the apprenticeship, I felt there was only so far, I could go in what I was doing.

"The apprenticeship has enabled me to work on more challenging cases and other duties that require a deeper understanding and more complex skill set. I have grown in confidence through the apprenticeship, which has been noticed by my colleagues. Studying alongside working is allowing me to apply fresh and relevant theory in the workplace and share my own experience with my colleagues.

"The apprenticeship has developed my skills of self-reflection, which is a valuable quality to have in social work and having the ability to use what I learn on the apprenticeship in my work role, enables me to have that direct continuous exposure to practice which will provide a solid foundation of experience when I begin my qualitied social work journey."

"I have found the teaching staff to be very personable and approachable. The lecturers are fully supportive and endeavour to ensure that any questions I may have been answered. Through the teaching, I have felt they have understood the demands placed on us, balancing work, and study. They have striven to help every member of our cohort achieve their full potential. As a student with dyslexia, I have found the student support services team to be flawless in their delivery of my NTU statement of access. They supported me in getting what I needed to learn such as assistive technology and a tutor. I never at any point felt that I could not reach out and get the help I needed. This again demonstrates the high quality that these services endeavour to meet. Nothing felt too much for them. In addition to this, they explained the process to my clearly and ensured that all my needs were met.

"The Study Skills team are also brilliant in what they do and deliver and have found their services invaluable when it came to academic writing and referencing. I also became a new parent during my second year and the support from the team were great, they really worked with me to navigate how this would impact my apprenticeship and what needed to be done. In addition, I had to change job roles due to redundancies within my work place and again the support I got was brilliant and very understanding."

"The online services are very efficient and user-friendly, particularly NTU NOW and the online library. I’ve found the university facilities to be accessible for someone like me with dyslexia. In the event of any issues I have had, there is always someone willing to help you resolve the problem."

"My favourite aspect of the apprenticeship has been to share the experience with like-minded individuals who understand the complexities involved with working and studying, and how through this, have made friends. Another is the faster pace, which I did struggle with at first, but it has meant learning is more focused and then I can apply this straight into my work role, which then adds a deeper understanding of the practical context.

"I have also loved being a “student” again, where I have been able to meet lots of new people and build on my own confidence. In addition, having reflective discussions and sharing practical knowledge and learn with people from different work backgrounds that I wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to do so."

"When people have said to me that a social work degree will change you, they were right! This apprenticeship has a focus on reflection, and I have become a more critically reflective practitioner where I have been able to reflect deeper into the practice that I deliver and the families I have supported. The apprenticeship has asked a lot of questions about our assumptions and decision-making, particularly regarding diversity and the lived experience of others. I have gained skills and experience in understanding the differences of people and how this has shaped their lives.

"As part of apprenticeship, we have had sessions with SEA volunteers who are those with lived experience and they have shared their stories with us. This provided valuable and deep insight into the lives of people who have or had social workers and how to ensure their voice and participation are vital in good practice and most importantly the need for collaboration when we work with people. This installed key skills for me as a future practitioner. I have developed skills in communication and organisation, particularly with having to meet the demands of both the apprenticeship and work."

"At first, the apprenticeship feels very daunting. I found myself asking “What have I done?! But that feeling goes away quickly. I worried that as I had not been in education for a long time, I would not be able to produce anything that is of university standard, but the support from the lecturers, the online services, and sessions about academic writing, just shows how invested NTU are in supporting its students, so my worries soon went.

"There have been moments when I have asked myself if I can manage the demands but then I remind myself why I am doing this and the on-hand support from my mentor and personal tutor remind me further! It does take a lot of adjusting to and it requires a lot of effort, but the reward you get in return makes it worthwhile. I really have grown throughout the apprenticeship, and I would recommend doing this because it really is a fantastic opportunity not to be missed.

A traditional degree, while has its positives, does not give you that real life application of everything you are learning on a weekly basis, which you get from the apprenticeship. You may question your capability when transitioning back to learning but remind yourself that you can do this and believe in yourself. And social work needs more men. I often get asked why I chose social work, it is because of the passion to want to walk alongside individuals, facilitate their voice and watch them use their strengths to grow."