Apprenticeships for staff

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleagues at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) have had to quickly learn new skills, re-learn old skills, train in different areas and undertake tasks outside of what they would usually do in their day-to-day roles.

Although this has been a challenge, it has shown just how flexible and open to learning most of us are and has reminded us of the value of upskilling, growing and evolving at work.

The Trust has a comprehensive learning and education programme and its apprenticeship offer, which allows colleagues to fit learning in at a time that works for both individuals and their managers, is a great way to add new skills to a team and to support the career development of individuals who are keen to learn and try new things.

While many of us may associate the word "apprenticeship" with young people straight out of college, the programme is open to colleagues and people of any age. There is a huge range of opportunities at the Trust through this route, all the way up to masters degree level. As apprenticeships are part-funded by the Government, they can be a great, cost effective way for managers to add resource and knowledge to their team.

Karen Jameson, Head of Healthcare Careers and Development at UHB, said: “Don’t let the word ‘Apprenticeship’ put you off. It’s an umbrella term for a programme that allows us to offer some fantastic learning and development opportunities to colleagues, without eating into team budgets too much. If you’re a manager who is either looking to expand your own skillset, or is in need of more resource or expertise in the team, I’d encourage you to chat to our team about how an apprenticeship could work for you.

“One of the best things about apprenticeships is they are flexible. We can work with managers to make sure they are serving the needs of the team. We know that managers might be put off as they’re fearful of losing key team members to training, but this perception is wrong. An apprenticeship can work around and often complement the day job.

“They’re also a fantastic way to keep colleagues engaged and to demonstrate that you value their career development. Most of us are never really ‘done’ with learning and apprenticeships offer structure and support to the learning process, with clear goals and formal qualifications as a result.”