Health Business - Health sector exceeds 5,000 health apprenticeship target

Health sector exceeds 5,000 health apprenticeship target

Just under half of NHS apprenticeships in key clinical and clinical support roles.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has announced that the health sector has exceeded its aim to recruit 5,000 public sector apprentices.

Last year both the NHS and social care services agreed to provide a major contribution to the Prime Minister’s commitment, to increase the number of apprenticeships by 21,000 across the public sector.

Current available NHS Strategic Health Authority figures show there is an even balance between clinical and non-clinical roles, with just under 50 per cent of apprentices engaged in the NHS providing key clinical roles such as maternity support workers and clinical support roles.

Burnham said: "Apprenticeships are an excellent way of giving young people the chance to learn life-changing skills and offer a genuine opportunity to train clinical staff."

"We must do all we can to provide high quality routes into jobs so that we can ensure we have a highly skilled and highly motivated NHS workforce for future generations."

Further information:
Department of Health