A unique partnership between Loughborough College and the NHS is using apprenticeships to help create healthcare heroes of the future.
The College and Joined Up Careers Derbyshire (JUCD) have jointly designed and delivered the programme which is training 16 adult care apprentices, with plans to train a new cohort this year.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in early 2020, the College won a tender to work with Joined Up Careers Derbyshire and its expert teams designed enrolment and induction modules, taking pressure off NHS admin teams, to recruit apprentices from a range of backgrounds.
Throughout the pandemic, the College and JUCD worked together on designing the programme to include a rotational aspect which enabled apprentices to experience a range of health and social care settings to gain first-hand, invaluable frontline experience in various healthcare settings.
Paula Allerton, Head of Apprenticeships at Loughborough College, said: “We are so proud to be playing our part in supporting the health and social care workforce and helping create the healthcare heroes of the future. This programme is exceptional because we have worked closely with Joined Up Careers to deliver exactly what they have needed in terms of training, opportunities, expertise and support.”
Abi Ingram, who works as Programme Support Officer and Apprentice Coordinator for Joined Up Careers, said: “The level 2 rotational adult care apprenticeship is a unique programme specifically for people with limited or no previous experience of the sector who want to experience the wealth of opportunities health and social care has to offer.
“Our apprentices are gaining a wealth of knowledge and skills to prepare them for employment or further training in health and social care. Apprentices complete five placements in different health and social care settings, for example acute, community, social care and mental health – this enables apprentices to experience a range of roles, services and organisations to develop diverse skills, but also to inform future career decisions.”
Abi added: “We hope that the placement experience, alongside the learning programme, will equip apprentices with the care, clinical and interpersonal skills to provide excellent care for vulnerable adults in Derbyshire.”
So far, the Adult Care Apprenticeship programme enrolled 16 apprentices who began their learning in September 2020. They are from a wide range of backgrounds, from school leavers to parents, with an age range of 16-47.
Charlotte Hadley, the College’s account manager, said: “It has been amazing to see so many people join the course who have a genuine desire to help and support vulnerable people. What has stood out is the number of people who signed up who are parents, have had their children and wanted to write a new chapter of their lives in health care.”
Suzanne O’Sullivan, 46, from Burton-upon-Trent, is doing a Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care with ambitions to become a qualified Health and Social Care Practitioner. She is one of the older apprentices She said: “The benefits are that you get a tailored approach that is specific to the Health and Social Care Programme, our assessor understands what the programme entails and guides us through our learning objectives and providing positive feedback for us to fulfil our true potential.”
Bethany Middleton, 16, from Ripley, Derbyshire, was the youngest member of the programme and, thanks to the springboard of the apprenticeship, has gone on to specialise in healthcare.
She said: “There are many benefits to the programme for apprentices, for example, someone like myself who is young and has not ventured into a professional clinical environment beforehand, this introductory offer is a real eye-opener to first-hand experience of working in a health and social care setting.
“Especially with the rotational nature of the apprenticeship, it provides you with multiple social care areas to work in, which allows you to cancel out or pencil in areas you would and would not having thought about working in before.”