From iCan to apprentice – a Dudley Group success story!  

The iCan project is a collaborative approach to pre-employment, widening participation and support to employment in the Dudley community. The developing programme is run by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and is funded by the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund.  This cross organisational initiative opens the opportunity for underrepresented groups of all ages to work in NHS or local authority settings and to access support, mentoring, and develop skills and confidence for successful careers.  

This year, the Trust and Dudley Council have collectively supported 30 local residents into paid work placements, within our organisations, as part of the ‘iCan Dudley’ initiative. 

Alice Daniel, who joined The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust in the first cohort of non-clinical iCan placements in January 2024, has had an enriching, varied year, which has successfully resulted in an administration apprenticeship role at the end of her placement. 

Throughout her placement, Alice supported a variety of teams in an administrative role, including the Learning and Organisation Development team, ESR, the Equality Diversity and Inclusion team and the Wellbeing team. She also experienced a work trial in Health Records in the Autumn, which assisted her in gaining more experience and skills – setting her up for her Business Admin Level 3 apprenticeship post in the Learning and Electronic Staff Records teams, which she started in January 2025. 

Alice said: “I’ve been a part of the iCan placement since January 2024, and prior to joining I was volunteering at my local care home and have always know I want to work in a care environment – but now more in an administrative role. 

“I’ve really enjoyed the iCan placement, I’ve learnt lots of new skills and all of my colleagues have been really helpful. On hard days everyone has been so kind and have made me feel much better. The skills I’ve learned during my placement have helped build up my CV, and I’m grateful for my apprenticeship post within the Trust as I look forward to continuing my career here at The Dudley Group.”