AN NHS call handler who was made redundant during the pandemic has bounced back after months of uncertainty.

Bethany Warren, from Halstead, had been working at a solicitors for nearly two years before the start of the pandemic.

But the 21-year-old soon found her self without a job after the virus hit the UK.

To make ends meet, Bethany took a temporary job working as an emergency 999 call handler for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust.

She worked there for the first six months of the pandemic in an experience she described as “humbling”.

The move followed in the footsteps of her family with her mother previously working as a paramedic and now working for a local GP surgery and helping to administer Covid-19 vaccinations.

Her brother also worked for the ambulance service and has since become a firefighter.

Bethany said: “It was a very stressful, but humbling experience.

“Knowing that you have helped to save someone’s life is a feeling quite unlike anything else.

“It was eye-opening and there were some really rewarding moments. But you also took things home with you that you just couldn’t forget.”

After leaving her job as a call handler, Bethany has now bounced back from her redundancy to land a role in a burgeoning industry.

Bethany is working for County Broadband, who are based in Aldham, as a corporate services executive.

It comes as the country celebrates National Careers Week 2021.

Now Bethany is calling on young people to look at joining the tech industry.

She said: “I was a bit concerned about my lack of technical skills and knowledge before applying, but honestly it has been such an amazing first couple of months and I’ve learned so much and have received so much incredible support.

“I’ve shocked myself. I thought I wouldn’t quite have the right technical skills or experience to do this type of job or work in this type of field.

“But with technology there is so much you can get stuck into and learn and pick up as you go along.

“It’s been an exciting whirlwind so far.

“I wouldn’t have thought at the age of 21 that I would be in charge of fleet management.”

Before joining the company, Bethany graduated with a Performing Arts diploma from the Colchester Institute and worked for a finance company for two years and a solicitors for just under two years before the Covid-19 outbreak.