People with sights set on a career in health are being encouraged to ‘grow your own way’ during National Apprenticeship Week, 10 – 16 February 2025.

Staff at NHS Humber Health Partnership, which runs the region’s main hospitals in Hull, Scunthorpe, Cottingham, Grimsby and Goole, are looking to spread that word the apprenticeships aren’t just for the young, but serve as a flexible way of building a lifelong career.

Katherine Bosanquet, Training and Apprentice Manager says: “There has long been a perception that apprenticeships are just for school leavers, or that they’re a second choice to university, but nothing could be further from the truth. In actual fact, people take on apprenticeships at all stages of life; they’re not just for young people or for people at the very start of learning a trade or profession.

Speech and language therapy apprentice, Catherine Stafford

“Apprenticeships come in all forms these days, and there are plenty of opportunities for people to use apprenticeships for career progression and to move up the ladder, not just for starting out.

“In many cases, apprenticeships can prove to be the more favourable option, as they allow people to work and earn at the same time as undertaking study, and that flexibility is proving really important both for us as an employer and for those who work, or are looking to work, within our hospitals.”

One such person is Catherine Stafford, who started a Speech and Language Therapy apprenticeship at Goole and District Hospital as part of last year’s intake, in September 2024.

She says: “Studying through an apprenticeship was much more accessible to me, and much more achievable as a mum.

“I had been out of education for a few years so I was slightly nervous about starting, especially as I wouldn’t be in a traditional ‘classroom’ setting, but there was a vast amount of support available.

“Online apprenticeships offer increased flexibility and accessibility for individuals with family or other commitments, such as myself, and yet still give the opportunity to gain work experience and earn a salary while pursuing higher education.

“It has proven to be the right path for me. With the online lectures recorded and all resources online, this is flexible and fits in with family life brilliantly; I can just log back in and go through anything I was unsure of or want to look info further, it’s nice to have that time to do that.”

Members of the Widening Participation Team are looking to ‘grow our own’

Across the five hospitals in the Humber region, almost 450 people are currently studying towards an apprenticeship of some level, in areas such as nursing, therapies, estates and facilities.

On Wednesday of this week, a special drop-in event will be held at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham for people interested in pursuing a career in nursing through an apprenticeship route, as well as for existing staff looking to progress and develop further.

Anne Burdis, Widening Participation Manager (pictured, far right), says: “We held an event of this type for the very first time last year and it was an enormous success. We had queues of people looking to chat with us about how apprenticeships work and how they could benefit, so we felt we just had to do it again.

“This Wednesday, we’ll have lots of people available to help, including current nursing staff, members of our own education team and those of the learning providers we work with. Crucially, we’ll also have a number of current apprentices joining us to share their own personal experiences, hints and tips with those who might be thinking of starting off on this path.  So whether it’s financial support, the qualifications available or just managing the work/study balance, we’ll have a friendly team on hand to help in a  relaxed and informal environment.”

The drop-in nurse apprenticeships event will take place between 4:30 and 6:30pm on Wednesday 12 February in the new Learning and Innovation Centre, Entrance 3, Castle Hill Hospital (underneath the Day Surgery Centre). No appointment is necessary, and visitors and welcome to bring friends or family along.

For more information on apprenticeships, visit www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/