A new report has identified several significant barriers to the expansion of degree apprenticeship routes to deliver the workforce targets as set out in the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan.
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, University Alliance (UA) and the University of Derby has published a comprehensive report that explores the current enablers of and barriers to delivering healthcare apprenticeships.
In particular, the report focuses on expanding apprenticeship participation for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), nurses, and doctors in England, and responds to the targets as set out by the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), published in the summer of 2023.
The report highlights financial constraints and disincentives, issues with capacity and support, as well as coordination challenges between employers and education providers.
Using existing evidence, a survey and in-depth qualitative interviews of current and former apprentices (alongside employers and staff at higher education institutions), the report provides targeted policy recommendations for employers, universities, policy makers and government to overcome these barriers.
The report calls for increased flexibility in the apprenticeship and skills levy to cover backfill, supervision, and other related costs for healthcare organisations and fairer distribution of apprenticeship funding across regions and specialties.
Responding to the report, RCN Executive Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said: "Health leaders have identified apprenticeships as a means of boosting recruitment into nursing, including for those who cannot afford to take on debt and go to university. However, the findings of this report show the route is failing to help close the gap left by a broken tuition fee model, with trusts lacking the funding to keep up with costs, while limited clinical placements leave NHS England unable to meet its own targets.
"The reality is that in order to recruit the highly skilled nurses we need at scale and speed, the government must deliver new investment in nursing education, in both apprenticeships and traditional degrees. The upcoming 10-Year and workforce plans for the NHS, and the Comprehensive Spending Review, are opportunities to do so. This includes changes to the apprenticeship levy to ensure it covers backfill salaries and therefore the full cost of providing a nursing apprenticeship.”
To view the full report, click here.
