Apprenticeships can provide great alternative routes into a variety of careers across all sectors and none more so than in the healthcare sector. There are a whole host of fantastic opportunities out there where apprentices can earn, learn and achieve a nationally recognised qualification at the same time.
Apprenticeships in healthcare benefit everyone from, learner, employer to patient, often providing opportunities and recognition for all support staff (clinical and non-clinical) including the development of transferable skills, resulting in increased flexibility of the workforce.
The apprentice: For the apprentice, there is nothing quite like getting firsthand experience (after all, isn’t that what most employers are looking for?).
The employers: Apprenticeships increase loyalty to the organisation and most apprentices stay with their recruiting employer resulting in a consistent and cohesive approach to patient care.
The patient: Apprentices tend to be eager, motivated and flexible – they are likely to be with patients because they want to be, having made an active choice to learn on the job and committed to a specific career.
Apprenticeships can be offered by individual NHS employers (such as trusts and health authorities), and by other non-NHS employers and organisations such as the National Skills Academy for Health Apprenticeship Training Agency. You may be surprised to know that apprenticeships are offered in a variety of roles throughout the UK health sector.
Below you will find some of the apprenticeships on offer:
1. Health, public services and care (including dental nursing, clinical support workers, healthcare assistants, occupational therapy assistants, dietetic assistants, physiotherapy assistants, radiotherapy assistants, pharmacy assistants and pharmacy technicians).
2. Administration and human resources (including business administration)
3. Financial services (including accounting and payroll)
4. Health informatics
5. Hospitality and travel (including hospitality and catering)
6. Information technology and communications (including IT user, marketing and communications)
7. Logistics (including purchasing and supply management, warehousing and storage)
8. Electrical and engineering (including building services, heating and ventilating, mechanical engineering)
9. Management
10. Property (including cleaning and support service industry)
Skills for Health work with partnering organisations to develop a number of national occupational standards, including healthcare apprenticeships.
Content on this page is produced and paid for by Skills for Health, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network’s workforce development hub
