"I became an Ambassador as I had recently started working as an Apprenticeship Coordinator and felt the practices demonstrated within the network could be of value to my role in the NHS.
I now work as the Apprenticeship Manager for the NHS within George Eliot Hospital and have found the knowledge base from the network invaluable. My role involves educating the workforce on the scope of apprenticeships and how this has changed since the introduction of the new standards and the apprenticeship levy. I spend a lot of my time exploring ‘the art of the possible’ with leaders from across the hospital, having exciting and inspiring conversations around creative ways of tackling the widely publicised skills shortages within the NHS.
So far, the hospital has introduced two brand new roles (Nursing Associate and Assistant Practitioners) which are now being integrated into the workforce in order to close the skills gap and create a clear progression route for our clinical services. This allows staff to take on some of the roles that our registered practitioners (such as Nurses, Physios etc.) would usually spend a lot of their time doing, enabling them to work at the top of their registration.
We are also going to be launching our leadership and development programme which will be delivered in partnership with our apprenticeship training provider and our organisational development team to deliver a holistic, bespoke package of development for managers at all levels, up to and including our Senior Leader.
Widening the reach of apprenticeships across Coventry and Warwickshire, I am now working with ambassadors from our local NHS Trusts (South Warwickshire Partnership Trust, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire) as part of a newly formed Apprenticeship Hub. We have secured funding from the Local Workforce Action Board for the next 12 months and are currently in the process of developing and delivering on an action plan with the focus on increasing the awareness of apprenticeships and employability opportunities within the NHS across the whole of the patch.
Apprenticeships work in our workforce as they enable us to adopt a new approach to delivering services and ensuring patient safety. We can really add value to our existing developmental programmes which we believe will impact positively on our staff engagement and retention."
To find out more about the NHS apprenticeships available click the link: https://www.nhsjobs.com/job_list/Apprenticeships/s10/Apprenticeships/d819