TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Apprenticeships
evidence from the workplace, mainly via writing logbooks of the job or task they have just carried out, demonstrating the skills and knowledge learnt. This evidence is also a record that they can use at any time to refer to, or evidence of work carried out to a future employer. To ensure further compliance in the workplace, and depending on the employer, some specialist courses may be needed – such as on the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations. Here the apprentice will learn the skills on the job, but the employer will want a specific certificate to say they have passed the relevant course on the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations; this can be easily incorporated.
Employers continuing to
invest in training Here in the North-East, employers are still continuing to invest in training because they recognise that if they don’t take a long term view for succession planning, they will be ill-equipped for the future. Apprentices can be hard work and time-consuming, but with investment they are, and will be, the future workforce, and by taking them on, NHS employers can address the issue of their ageing workforce and potentially also staff turnover, and – importantly – also save on training. Many times, I hear that when NHS employers have recruited a qualified person from outside the NHS, the employers are left with an immediate additional investment to train that person to meet the necessary skills for the NHS – HEST could be the answer to solving this in engineering. Wayne Carr, Chairman of the HEST
trailblazer, said it was challenging ensuring that all the employers’ information was acted on, reviewed and, where possible, included
department budgets / finance and costing works, and then achieve the job within budget, also considering how sustainability and waste affect the NHS and, of course, budgets. A key element was how to communicate better with ward staff / key managers, plan their work, and use up-to-date techniques and tools or offer suggestions for continuous improvements, not only in their own development, but also that of any department / employer. Being an engineer in the current NHS setting requires many skills – not just core engineering, and with HEST this was one aspect we were trying to fulfil to show the apprentices the wide range of duties and tasks expected of them once they were qualified.
into the Standard. Initially the thought was to offer training content on individual electrical, mechanical and medical equipment, but – based on the evidence and information we received – it was obvious that more NHS employers were looking at the multi-skilled approach rather than just a single discipline; why are we sending two people to isolate and prove ‘dead’ and then a mechanical craftsperson to repair the equipment? Let’s train the individual with more skills to do this work, and then there is more efficiency in the work being undertaken, all to the safest possible standard of work. So, after discussions, this was agreed as the way forward, and any specialisms can be added by the employer during or after the apprenticeship if needed. The Trailblazer Group also wanted to include aspects to future-proof the Standard where possible – to get apprentices to understand in more detail about the NHS /
A stepping stone Wayne Carr added, as a Director of Estates
for CHoICE Facilities Services, that it is important that we look at the apprentices as the future workforce – whether that it is as a highly qualified and trained craftsperson, or to give them the skills to progress in their careers; this HEST Standard is that stepping stone to the next step, and gives apprentices the skills they need to progress in any direction to meet their individual needs, as well as employer requirements, and to enjoy long and successful careers. Will everyone like it? Possibly not, but
it does cover the engineering knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed for the NHS engineering environment, and as a Training Provider keen not to simply ‘make do’ with an Apprenticeship Standard, or a ‘making it fit’ approach, then HEST fits perfectly. It encourages flexibility and adaptability, and therefore benefits the NHS.
12 Health Estate Journal March 2024
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