With the NHS in the grip of a workforce crisis, fresh approaches to recruitment and education in healthcare have never been more critical.
In a system struggling to cope with ever-rising demand and challenges in filling vacancies, degree apprenticeships – where students work in salaried roles in their chosen discipline throughout their course and do not pay fees to study – have been heralded for their potential to boost entry through alternative routes.
The University of Derby delivered some of England’s first degree apprenticeships in 2017, and this year has been awarded funding totalling £1.5m to launch new courses within health and social care, as well as adding to those it offers in partnership with Rolls-Royce Submarines at its Nuclear Skills Academy.
During the latest in a series of seminars, the university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Kathryn Mitchell, and pro vice-chancellor and dean of its college of health, psychology, and social care, Dr Denise Baker, discussed the difference these qualifications are making – and how Derby is leading the way in making sure they offer the best possible experience for employers and apprentices.
Prof Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL
Vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Derby
With an academic background in psychology, Mitchell has worked at the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Institute in New York and the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel. Her current research looks at how patients and clinical staff accept advances in medical treatments.
Dr Denise Baker
Pro vice-chancellor and dean of the University of Derby’s college of health, psychology and social care
A registered diagnostic radiographer, Baker has worked in both educational and clinical roles. She was involved in the development of the first nursing degree apprenticeship standard and holds a professional doctorate exploring the implementation of apprenticeship policy in the NHS.
Raising aspirations and widening participation
Running through the conversation was a clear thread: for Mitchell and Baker, degree apprenticeships are far more than just a quick fix to get empty roles filled. For a start, because the tuition fees are fully funded (through the apprenticeship levy), they’re boosting social mobility and offering employers the benefits of a more diverse workforce.
Many healthcare apprentices are more mature learners – most often women – who have been working in the sector for many years, Baker says. “Maybe they did not think they would be able to afford to go to university, and this opportunity is so important for them because [as well as training] they are getting that university experience, which broadens horizons.
“It raises aspirations and it makes them more confident. And that has an impact on their family and social circles as well. We often have people saying to us: ‘Because I am doing this, my family members, my children, think that they could do that as well.’
“This is an enormous ripple in the pond of widening participation. In an area like Derby, where there are notable inequalities in education and health outcomes, that is really important.”
It’s also why Mitchell has been especially keen to ensure that apprentices, whose time is split roughly 80/20 between work and study, still get the “cultural experiences” of being a student, such as playing competitive sport on Wednesdays, or joining student societies linked to their discipline. “Apprenticeships are not just a great way for industries to develop their existing workforces; it is also about creating a pipeline of graduate talent that has a diverse offering to industry,” she says.
Feedback from healthcare apprentices and employers alike about the impact of the programmes is “just outstanding”, says Baker. “Because the apprentice spends the equivalent of four days a week in the workplace, they develop competence very quickly, and they get that underpinning knowledge at the same time.
“They become integrated into the team in a different way compared with undergraduate students. They are able to progress and deliver more quickly, and [because of that] they are more satisfied. There are so many benefits – to the employer, to the apprentice and to the service user.”
How employers help shape courses
While some of the University of Derby’s healthcare apprenticeships are delivered with local NHS trusts, where they’re important in developing a workforce that is more likely to stay in the area, others have been developed in partnership with private providers, often national companies, whose needs were key in shaping the innovative ways programmes are offered. These companies want to work with a single education provider so, in response to this, Derby designed the study part of the degree to be delivered online. “This allows apprentices to plan their life around working in challenging workplaces, and to maintain family opportunities at the same time,” says Mitchell. “This can be difficult to manage if you are studying on a traditional three-year programme at university.”
Derby is now set to expand its online programmes to pre-registration nursing, allowing apprentices to study from anywhere in England, undertaking their placement with their local employer.
For employers such as Rolls-Royce, degree apprenticeships provide an invaluable opportunity to shape the way its employees are educated, as well as enabling it to get a workforce in place quickly. “Through the partnership we can modify elements of the programme as required because businesses like Rolls-Royce are moving at pace, and we must ensure that we deliver a teaching and learning experience aligned to industry needs now and in the future,” adds Mitchell. “This means an experience that delivers for Rolls-Royce and for our students.”
An apprentice’s perspective: ‘I have a family and a mortgage so a traditional degree wasn’t feasible’
Catherine Hendy, from London, is in her third year of a BSc (Hons) Prosthetics and Orthotics Apprenticeship Degree at the University of Derby, and works at the London Orthotic Consultancy.
“I was an orthotics technician for five years, manufacturing devices, and I wanted to progress my career to become an orthotist, interacting with patients and prescribing devices to improve their mobility, and help with deformities and pain.
“You can’t be registered as an orthotist without a degree in the field. But I have a family and a mortgage, and asking them to move to another city so I could study for a traditional degree wasn’t feasible.
“I was delighted when the University of Derby introduced the degree apprenticeship – and that I could study remotely. To be able to stay where I live, working at a company I have been with for years just made sense. If it wasn’t for the degree apprenticeship I might not have stayed in the industry.
“We have an online platform for distance learning, and video calls with the lecturers every few weeks. The lecturers are very approachable and I feel very supported by the university.
“I enjoy treating patients, so to have the hands-on time in clinic for three years that you get as an apprentice is really valuable. You can read as much as you want, but it’s always different when you’re actually doing it in practice.”
The right skills for the future
In response to employer demand, Derby will shortly add degree apprenticeships in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, midwifery, social work and youth work to its health and social care offering. This already includes operating-department practice, nursing and the UK’s only apprenticeship in prosthetics & orthotics, a specialism that provides patients with a wide range of devices, from insoles to spinal bracing and prosthetic limbs, to help improve their health, mobility and quality of life.
New funding from the Office for Students will also see the university develop a public health practitioner degree apprenticeship, in response to needs identified in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (pdf). Mitchell stresses that these new roles will be crucial in creating a future workforce that invests in the prevention of health problems, rather than having a system that simply boosts acute care with more doctors and nurses. “[It is about] stopping and thinking about what skills we really do need in order to change the health of the UK,” she states. “It is clear that a workforce more aligned to prevention is critical in assuring that the UK population values health, rather than illness.”
Baker points to the prosthetics and orthotics apprenticeship as a field with a critical need for skilled practitioners. “Smaller professions like prosthetics and orthotics will struggle to survive unless we can support people to come into them, and we could find ourselves without the level of staffing to deliver a service which is so fundamental to people’s quality of life,” she says. “If people cannot be mobile, then how are they going to be able to maintain their level of fitness and their level of mental health?”
Support for managing work and study
How can apprentices be supported to manage the dual demands of work and study? Well-planned courses are vital, Baker points out. “Their work feeds their study and their study feeds their work. Every apprentice needs support from the university and their employer to ensure they get the mentorship and opportunities needed to succeed. As in the apprenticeship tradition, new entrants learn their craft from experienced practitioners in the real-world environment. The tripartite relationship between the apprentice, employer and university is critical to achieving this.”
Derby also has “amazing wraparound support”, says Baker. “The university is there to support apprentices and employers alike to ensure that learning is planned and any problems are resolved as smoothly as possible. Induction always includes development of the study skills necessary to help meet the demands of both work and study, these are then woven through the apprenticeship and complemented by the university’s online Develop@Derby programme. University staff are always there to offer more personalised advice and support too, but of course, it is always a balancing act.”
Mitchell adds: “For someone set on a particular career pathway, a degree apprenticeship is challenging, but it is a very rewarding experience.” The jobs apprentices do on a day-to-day basis show them more of their industry than they would see on an undergraduate placement, but they still have the benefit of an undergraduate experience, with the same degree outcome. “If you prefer a practice-based programme then you have the best of both worlds,” she concludes.
The seminar’s key takeaways
• Because learners on degree apprenticeships earn a salary and don’t have to pay fees, the courses are boosting social mobility and offering employers a more diverse workforce.
• Degree apprenticeships give employers a valuable opportunity to help shape their apprentices’ training, even modifying it during a course.
• Partnerships with private providers have been key in driving innovation in the delivery of apprenticeship programmes: the online learning introduced as a result gives apprentices with families or other commitments vital flexibility.
• Employers can use degree apprenticeships to develop their existing workforce, and to recruit new talent by offering degree apprenticeship opportunities.
If you are looking to embark on a degree or degree apprenticeship that equips you with everything you need for a successful career, visit derby.ac.uk
