Exclusive: How Prince’s Trust transformed young people’s lives during pandemic

A YOUNG woman has described how she has found a job for life after she was supported by the Prince’s Trust during the pandemic last year.  

Mukti was a pre-registration pharmacist but became unemployed when the pandemic hit and her 12-month contract came to an end.  

Unsure about her next career move, she sought out the Prince’s Trust programme after hearing about it from family and friends.

In an interview with Eastern Eye on Sunday (20), Mukti said, “I wanted to help people, the NHS and people stuck at home during the pandemic. The Prince’s Trust really helped me.”

The Prince’s Trust partnered with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Health Education England (HEE) in the summer of 2019 to support thousands of young people from a diverse range of backgrounds into careers in healthcare and social care over a four-year period.  

Having spoken to Mukti about her goals, the trust introduced her to the health and social care programme, which provided online training sessions and a dedicated mentor who helped her in improving her confidence and interview skills.  

“I was inspired to take part in the programme and try different avenues of getting back into healthcare in any way that I could make a meaningful difference, helping not only patients but to work alongside those working on the front line during this time,” said Mukti, who earlier was working in a insecure job as pharmacist before losing it to due to pandemic.

HRH The Prince of Wales visited Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London to meet young people who have been supported by the Prince's Trust and are working with the NHS(Photo by Ian Jones for the Prince's Trust)

"Weekly mentoring sessions where I get to discuss my goals and future aspirations has helped me build a better outlook of my future and how to get to where I want to be,” said the 25-year-old Londoner.

“The programme definitely helped me and I am grateful because I am in the job I wanted to be in. I am happy to be helping people through the NHS and that’s where I see myself to be. I highly recommend it to everyone who needs support,” Mukti said.

“The Prince’s Trust has given me an opportunity I will forever be grateful for. I have been given further insight into the different aspects of the health and social care sector. Having a mentor and having that reassurance about my ways of thinking has built more confidence within myself; confidence I had once lost,” Mukti said.

Last week, Mukti met Prince Charles, the founder and president of the Prince’s Trust, and health secretary Matt Hancock as they met young frontline workers from Chelsea and Westminster and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trusts to hear how the initiative supported them into employment.  

Mukti described how the royal was genuinely interested in speaking to those who benefited from the programme during his visit.  

“It was a very pleasant experience and I will remember it forever,” she said. 

Chief Nursing Officer at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Pippa Nightingale, earlier said that working with the trust through the Health and Social Care programme has been a thoroughly rewarding experience. 

“It’s a pleasure to see how passionate and motivated the young people are to join the sector, as well as how this high quality programme equips them for their roles; despite many of them having no previous NHS or healthcare experience,” Nightingale said.