Apprenticeships in England

Apprenticeships provide routes into a variety of careers, including many in the NHS, and offer the opportunity to earn, learn and achieve nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.

They are for people looking for a job that enables them to carry on learning, and for those already in employment who want to gain further qualifications.

Apprentices benefit everyone:

• For the apprentice, there's nothing like getting first hand experience.
• The employing organisation knows it's providing a genuine opportunity to someone with fresh ideas.
• Patients benefit from more staff contributing to their care.

Available apprenticeships

Apprenticeships may be offered by individual NHS employers (such as trusts and health authorities), and by other non-NHS employers and organisations.

Apprenticeships are offered in many different types of work, grouped in occupational sectors. We've listed below some of the apprenticeships that could be relevant to the NHS, but other sectors are also available.

• administration and human resources (including business administration)
• construction (including bricklaying, wall and floor tiling, carpentry and joinery, floor covering, painting and decorating, building technician, and plastering)
• customer services and retail (including contact centres and customer service)
• electrical and engineering (including building services, heating and ventilating, mechanical engineering)
• financial services (including accounting and payroll)
• hospitality and travel (including hospitality and catering)
• information technology and communications (including IT user, marketing and communications)
• logistics (including purchasing and supply management, warehousing and storage)
• management
• property (including cleaning and support service industry)
• health, public services and care (including dental nursing, clinical support workers, healthcare assistants, occupational therapy assistants, dietetic assistants, physiotherapy assistants, radiotherapy assistants, pharmacy assistants and pharmacy technicians).

Real life stories 

You can read some case studies of staff who have entered the NHS through an apprenticeship. Ben Yeates did an engineering apprenticeship; Paul Mallett did one as a dental technician; Dave Martin followed an apprenticeship in dental therapy and John Wheeler in painting and decorating.

And we prepared a number of real life stories from apprentices and former apprentices up and down the country for National Apprenticeships Week in March 2013.

You can also hear from real-life NHS apprentices in our exclusive film.

Further information

For an overview of the full range on offer, visit the apprenticeships website.

If you are interested in looking for a job which includes an apprenticeship, then log onto the National Vacancy Matching Service.

If you are an existing employee and would like to undertake an apprenticeship, then contact your manager/human resources department.

Content and structure 

There are three levels of apprenticeships available:

• intermediate apprenticeships
• advanced apprenticeships
• higher apprenticeships

Find out more on our further information web page.