What is an Apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships are for people looking for a job that enables them to carry on learning. Many jobs in the NHS don’t require a university qualification and many provide on-the-job training, as well as opportunities for further learning. Apprenticeships provide routes into a variety of careers and offer the opportunity to earn, learn and achieve nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.
Why work for the NHS?
The NHS is the largest employer in Europe with over 1.2 million employees in the United Kingdom. There are opportunities to work in hundreds of organisations across the country in over 350 different job roles. Whatever skills you have, there is probably a job that will suit in the healthcare sector, and an apprenticeship might be the perfect way to start your career with us.
Not all the staff working in healthcare are clinicians like doctors and nurses. We have IT professionals, accountants, engineers, scientists and many more professionals who come together to deliver the best experience and outcome possible for our patients.
Working in the healthcare sector gives you the ability to improve the lives of others by supporting the care of patients and carers who depend on the services we provide. There are also lots of employee benefits such as progressive rates of pay, on the job training and a great pension scheme.
How do I know if an apprenticeship in the healthcare sector is for me?
Apprenticeships provide routes into a variety of careers in the NHS and wider healthcare sector. They offer an excellent opportunity to earn, gain work experience and achieve nationally recognised qualifications at the same time, with many different areas of work to consider.
An apprenticeship in a health and care setting isn’t like going to full-time college or University; as an apprentice you will be doing a real job in a real workplace, and getting paid for it! You will have responsibilities to your employer and your colleagues and you will be working as part of a team in a great organisation. The responsibility you have whilst you’re learning on the job means you will develop skills very quickly whilst being supported by your team in the healthcare sector.
How is it structured?
The whole qualification will take about either 12 or 24 months to complete, depending on your previous experience and qualifications. As an apprentice you will be required to work a minimum of 30 hours per week.
Whilst you are earning in your workplace, you are also required to spend 20% of your time at a training centre or college, working towards recognised competence and knowledge qualifications and developing your skills in Maths and English if needed.
Current apprenticeship opportunities
Apprenticeships are available in a wide range of job roles within the healthcare sector, with over 30 different apprenticeship frameworks to choose from. Currently, we have apprentices working in a variety of roles in a number of different healthcare organisations across North Lancashire and Cumbria. New apprenticeships are continuing to be explored and developed; our vision over the next few years is to develop apprenticeship opportunities as pathways into all job roles across the NHS!
What happens after your apprenticeship?
We can not guarantee a job at the end of your apprenticeship, but we will support you in finding work, by offering you CV and interview workshops. An apprenticeship is also a recognised route to Higher Education with some apprenticeships already attracting UCAS points.
Useful websites
There has never been a better time to start an apprenticeship and applying is easy. You can find out more information, search and apply for apprenticeship opportunities by visiting the following websites:
www.jobs.nhs.uk
www.stepintothenhs.co.uk
There’s lots of really useful information on these sites to enable you to perform a job search and find jobs that match your skills, making it really easy to apply for NHS jobs online. There are also video case studies to watch, job news, advise on careers and a ‘Job Seekers’ section that gives valuable information in regards to searching for the perfect job, how to make successful applications, interview tips and much more.
Contact us
If you have any queries about apprenticeships in healthcare across Cumbria and North Lancashire, please contact the Careers and Engagement Hub: ruth.keeler@mbht.nhs.uk or victoria.lumley@mbht.nhs.uk or Jodi.slater@mbht.nhs.uk