Stories

Have a look at these videos and stories of our current graduates:

My Name is Jack – I am currently on my second year of the Financial Management Graduate Scheme (cohort 2021). I am based within Swansea Bay University Health Board.

My first year on the graduate scheme has been great. I have had the opportunity to work 5 different placements within the Health Board to include:

Financial management (supporting services within Singleton hospital)
Accounts payable (Helping to process some of the many thousands of invoices NHS Health Boards around Wales receive each month)
Payroll – Understanding the complex process of ensuring over 70,000 staff are paid correctly and on time.
Financial accounts (Allowing me to participate in the creation of the year end accounts and experience the process of Audit)
Commissioning & contracting (Working alongside other health boards to ensure the best possible patient experience helping to monitor both Service level and Long term agreement contracts)

My second year on the graduate scheme has flown by. I have had the opportunity to work 7 different placements within the health board to include:

Procurement – A short placement looking how NHS Swansea spends some of its 1 billion pound budget. Looking into the procurement tendering process and discovered some of the challenges NHS procurement were facing when sourcing items after the worldwide economy has been hit by Covid

Business Systems and Governance – Another short placement looking into the systems supporting Swansea Bay finance. This placement showed me our reliance upon technology within the health board.
Welsh Health Specialised Services (WHSCC) – An external placement hosted by Cwm taff health board. WHSCC has been set up to work on behalf of all health boards within Wales in order to commission specialised services amongst the health boards to aid in efficiency.
Internal Audit – Another External placement looking to audit a number of areas within Swansea Health board. I carried out a number of tasks aiding in a number of time sensitive audits
Financial accounts – Assisting in the preparation of year end accounts. I now had more experience and skills, which enabled me to play a bigger part in the preparation of year-end accounts. I had the responsibility of undertaking a variety of tasks.

Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am a NHS Wales Financial Management Graduate just coming to the end of my second year on the scheme and currently based in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

I applied to become an NHS Wales Financial Management Graduate because during my university studies I really enjoyed the numerical and analytical aspect and wanted to use these skills in my career. I applied for the scheme because of the rotational aspect of being able to see lots of different finance departments within one organisation within the 3 years on the scheme as well as the opportunity to further develop myself and work towards the ACCA qualification. Another reason I applied for the scheme is the curiosity I had for what finance would be like for such a large organisation as NHS Wales and thus the opportunities that could arise from that.

Studying for ACCA has been a lot different from university as I had to find a balance between working full time and studying. Overall, with the assistance of HTFT the training providers and the 1 study day per module per week helped me to get into the swing of things. So far having completed 5 modules of 13 from ACCA they very much build upon each other and when completing the exams there is flexibility to do this in an ACCA exam centre or the opportunity to complete the exams at home on your own laptop.

If you are thinking of apply for the scheme my best tip would be to go for it. There are such a wide range of finance departments within NHS Wales which I did not know about when joining and this scheme gives you the opportunity to learn about all of these! There is also a great network of previous graduates and students who have studied ACCA that you can turn to as well as the graduates who will be joining NHS Wales at the same time as you.

I’m Elin, a Financial Management Graduate Trainee at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (cohort 2022).

One of the main reasons I applied for the Scheme was the variety and scope of the placements. Spending time with different departments has provided a bigger picture of how each of the Finance teams support each other and work together, which wouldn’t be possible without the continuous rotation of placements. Experiencing NHS Wales finance function as a whole whilst furthering my studies was a big selling point for me.

After studying Accountancy and Finance in University, I knew I wanted to become a finance professional. Working for NHS Wales adds an extra layer of value and purpose to being a finance professional. What I enjoy most is the greater meaning behind the figures, with the overall goal of providing high quality care to the population of Wales.

The first year on the scheme has absolutely flown by. Moving departments and starting a new placement at regular intervals has given me an understanding of the different functions within finance. Witnessing first-hand the work different finance functions undertake, whilst being welcomed warmly into different teams is a rare opportunity that not many get to experience. Being a part of the Graduate Scheme has allowed me to create a lot of new relationship in a short amount of time, gain invaluable insight into finance within NHS Wales and a breadth of knowledge.

My name is Charlotte and I am a Financial Management Graduate Trainee for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (cohort 2022)

One of the main reasons I applied for the NHS Wales Financial Management Graduate Trainee scheme was to enter the world of work in an organisation that promotes a sense of community where networking is encouraged. The values of the NHS very much align with my own, therefore, I believed this graduate scheme was the best fit for me after completing university.

The thing I enjoy the most about working for NHS Wales Finance is having the opportunity to meet colleagues from across the various placements included in the scheme. This unique opportunity allows me to attain a breadth of knowledge from various areas unlike many other placements in the private sector where a specific area is chosen and used for the entirety of a scheme. This, therefore, provides me with the chance to explore many areas of finance before selecting the specific career path I would like in finance.

My first year on this graduate scheme has been very eye opening in regards to how the NHS is operated and where/how much money is spent. The various different placements I have completed in my first year provided me with a basic understanding of how systems are used (Oracle and QlikView) to complete various tasks within the organisation such as a trial balance, invoice enquiries and detailed reports. Furthermore, the first year provided me with the experience of year end in Financial Accounts where I assisted with the Agreement of Balances and Balance Sheet Reconciliation. During my first year, I was also provided with the opportunity to experience the Management Accounts department where I was put in charge of some Month End Reporting duties such as the Budget Statement, Invoice Tracker and Budget Reconciliations.

When reflecting on my first year, I note how much knowledge and experience I was able to attain in such a short period of time working for the NHS. The scheme has provided me with a basic understanding of many areas in finance such as Systems and Governance, Financial Accounts and Accounts Payable. Furthermore, the scheme has enabled me to make working relationships with many different colleagues from various backgrounds and bands. For example, during my first month of working for Cwm Taf I was able to meet Cwm Taf Morgannwg’s Director of Finance. Overall, I’ve enjoyed my first year working for NHS Wales and am looking forward to seeing where the next year takes me.