Training
health and care finance and the inclusion of the NHS England’s Mary Seacole programme, these courses allow NHS employees to develop a strong skillset and mindset that reflects the sector’s current and future needs. This not only helps employees to develop their careers and give them the confidence to move into leadership roles, but it also helps them to feel more purpose-driven within their role and, as a result, more likely to stay at the organisation. It’s also important to partner with an external
training provider that knows the healthcare industry – one that tailors its courses to the demands, legalities and issues the healthcare sector presents. The health and care sector has very unique challenges and requirements. If you’re enrolling employees on a Level 6 Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, for example, you want to make sure the course is tailored to the health and care sector and, therefore, more relevant for your team. This will also ensure the knowledge they bring back to the practice is readily applicable. There may be concerns about the additional time and resources required when learning on the job, which could strain the already busy healthcare industry. Training apprentices can be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and effort from experienced staff who may already be overburdened. However, partnering with a flexible education provider can help employees to manage this balance, giving them the flexibility to fit their work around their busy schedules, minimising disruption to teams. Heather Morris, placement lead at Walsall Healthcare, was trying to retain staff while also expanding staff knowledge about leadership and management. One of the staff members she placed on an apprenticeship degree with Arden University was Tim Farrington, Orthodontic and Maxillofacial Technician at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. He had been working for the NHS for the past 27 years and had been looking for a way to develop his skills to progress his career. He explained that, while he was keen to develop his career, he has five children with his partner, meaning outside of work he is incredibly busy. He needed a course which was flexible and affordable and stated: “Doing an online apprenticeship degree was ideal for me. It allowed me to fit my development around my work and family life.” Degree apprenticeships can be time intensive, so it’s important for practices to offer the right level of support and have a strong process in place to ensure employees are well-equipped to see their studies through to the end. As Heather added: “When looking at supporting colleagues’ learning and development, we needed to make sure the degree learning model was flexible. We
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also wanted to ensure our staff had the chance to speak with a coach every month for support. Degrees can be quite intense, especially after being out of education for so long, so we wanted to ensure our staff were getting the amount of support they needed.” It’s vital to make sure that those enrolled on courses are confident in what they want to achieve, personally and professionally. The healthcare Trust should match this up with the overall departmental or organisational goals and speak with employees, hold information sessions and consult with line managers to identify the most suitable apprentices. As well as this, flexible learning is vital. The courses offered by Arden University, for instance, are completed entirely remotely to ensure they suit employers and employees and fit around the demands of the healthcare industry. There are a few things the health and care
sector needs to tackle: improving diversity, boosting staff engagement, developing leaders and meeting the changing needs of patients. Degree apprenticeships can help health and care practices to address all of these issues. Developing and upskilling talent is a key part of any organisation’s resilience toolkit. However, this can cost money and will always take an investment of time. When resources are stretched, training, mentoring, coaching and upskilling can fall down the priority list and get overlooked. However, neglecting to develop your existing talent will quickly cost the healthcare sector. Apprenticeships have been found to be a cost-effective tool, as they provide a high return on investment, and it’s great to see the sector embracing them as we embrace a new digital economy and digitally-enabled workplace. CSJ
References 1. Hudson RPO Blog. The 2024 UK talent market outlook, 25 January 2024 Accessed at:
https://www.hudsonrpo. com/blogs-articles/the-uk-talent-market- in-2024#:~:text=80%25%20of%20UK%20 employers%20are,are%20in%20the%20 same%20boat.
2. Manpower Group Employment Outlook Survey, Q3 2022. Accessed at: https://
www.manpowergroup.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2022/06/2022-talent-shortage- uk_report.pdf
3. BMA, NHS medical staffing data analysis. Accessed at:
https://www.bma.org.uk/ advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and- workforce/workforce/nhs-medical-staffing- data-analysis#:~:text=The%20greatest%20 proportion%20of%20all,of%20work%20as%20 a%20result.
4. NHS England, NHS Long Term Workforce Plan,
30 June 2023. Accessed at: https://www.
england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term- workforce-plan/
5. Kline R. Leadership in the NHS, BMJ, 2019. Accessed at:
https://bmjleader.bmj. com/content/leader/early/2019/12/05/ leader-2019-000159.full.pdf
6. King’s Fund, Employee engagement and NHS performance, 2012. Accessed at:
https://assets.kingsfund.org.uk/f/256914/x/ f7572997c3/employee_engagement_nhs_ performance_west_dawson_leadership_ review2012_paper.pdf
7. Mireku, A, UK life sciences grapple with the job market’s digital dilemma, Pharm. Tech. 24August 2023. Accessed at: https://www.
pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/uk- life-sciences-grapple-with-the-job-markets- digital-dilemma/
8. Accessed at:
https://topol.hee.nhs.uk/ 9. Willis M, Duckworth P, Coulter A, et alQualitative and quantitative approach to assess the potential for automating administrative tasks in general practice, BMJ Open 2020;10:e032412. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032412 Accessed at:
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/6/ e032412
About the author
Director of Corporate Partnerships at Arden University, Stacey Hayes-Allen is a dynamic leader at the forefront of workforce development in the corporate division of the University. As the architect behind the go-to- market strategy for employer engagement, B2B sales and marketing, she drives initiatives that connect academia with industry needs. Stacey excels in forging partnerships that co-create tailored workforce solutions, empowering organisations to implement training programmes that enhance employee skills and productivity. Her career experience spans education, apprenticeships, relationship management, recruitment and diversity strategies.
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