Primary Care ‘Made by Apprentices’

In March 2016 we saw the return of National Apprenticeship Week, co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, which is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Part of Health Education England’s work in the east is to promote primary care as a career which includes boosting apprenticeship numbers across the four Workforce Partnerships.

Essex Workforce Partnership recognised this as a great inroad to speak directly to the students at local schools and colleges who might be interested in stepping into an NHS apprenticeship. Jared Gusterson (Apprentice, Essex WP) and Dr Shah Arghandawi (Clinical Commissioning Fellow) attended an event in Essex called ‘Made by Apprentices’, hosted by Ginger Nut Training (Local Apprenticeship Ambassador Network members).

The event, aimed at young people, saw various schools and colleges invited to attend to listen to speakers and visit information points. During the event, Jared Gusterson hosted a presentation for the attendees on what it’s like being an apprentice in the NHS, the wide range of options available to apprentices and the career opportunities this provides. Jared, along with Shah, also hosted an information point which gave students the opportunity to ask questions about the NHS and to find out about the wide range of apprenticeships and careers available. The event was a huge success for Essex WP as they were able to engage with numerous students from a variety of backgrounds and they are already poised to sign up for next years event.

Continued engagement...

As part of their continued engagement with the primary care sector, Dr Shah Arghandawi and Laura Brookes (Partnership Development Officer, Essex WP) attended the North East Essex GP Education event during April to help further promote apprenticeships. Their information stand focused on apprenticeships in primary care, highlighting how this useful framework can develop new and existing workforce.

Over 100 GPs and Practice Managers attended the event along with CCG and acute sector representatives. Shah and Laura spoke to multiple GP staff about the benefits of taking on apprentices as well as the financial support available to enable more practices to grow their own workforce through apprenticeships. Interest is growing steadily since they started their primary care engagement work during 2015 and a number of practices in Essex are already feeling the benefits of taking on an apprentice.

Need some inspiration?

If you are considering starting up an apprenticeship programme within your practice but need some inspiration watch this video created by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. By watching you will find out why they are running various apprenticeship schemes within their hospital and how it has helped the apprentices develop a future career in the NHS.