CLCH helps apprentices build healthcare careers in Hertfordshire

While apprentices follow a similar pattern of study to university students, they spend most of their time in the department in which they work. CLCH runs apprenticeships in nursing, allied health professions (AHPs) and non-clinical roles. The programme offers the apprentice the opportunity to ‘earn as they learn’.

CLCH is supporting the expansion of opportunities and alternative routes into healthcare as part of the NHS Long Term Workforce plan, increasing the number of registered nurses and Allied Health Professionals qualifying through apprenticeship routes. Following the start of the Registered Nursing Degree Apprenticeship at CLCH in 2021, 18 nurses have now completed, taking up registered roles at CLCH.

The programme has attracted interest from existing staff, school leavers and external candidates who longed for a career change. Apprentices can develop their careers and attain qualifications at a number of different levels ranging from Level 2 (GCSE and Functional Skills Level 2) to Level 7 (master’s or post graduate level).

Rebecca Rogers, Occupational Therapy Apprentice at Langley House Neurological Rehabilitation Unit in Watford, enrolled on an apprenticeship to become a qualified occupational therapist after admiring the profession when she was employed as a mental health support worker in the NHS. Rebecca had graduated from university with a psychology degree in 2013 so she viewed the apprenticeship as the best route to qualify into her dream job without having to take another student loan.

Rebecca said:

“Being paid while learning attracted me to the role initially but there are so many more benefits to training via an apprenticeship.

“As we were exposed to the working environment in between study I could bring what I had learnt straight into the working environment and see the impact on the patients I was looking after.

CLCH’s apprenticeship programme supports its role as an anchor institution by widening access to quality work for local residents, while helping to build a workforce that is more representative of the local area and its communities.

This National Careers Week, if you are considering the next steps in your career, look out for our upcoming opportunities online or search ‘NHS apprenticeships’.