Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee learns and gains valuable experiences.

Alongside on-the-job training, apprentices spend at least 6 hours of their working hours per week completing classroom-based learning with a college, university or training provider which leads to a nationally recognised qualification.

An apprenticeship includes:

• paid employment with holiday leave
• hands-on-experience in a sector/role of interest
• at least 6 hours per week off-the-job training
• formal assessment which leads to a nationally recognised qualification

Care sector apprenticeships involve a variety of tasks, such as home and hospital visits, clinics, and essential support for individuals requiring extra assistance. This encompasses working with disabled and older individuals in their homes or communities, also known as social care. Activities range from engaging with young people in after-school clubs to assisting adults with mental health concerns or ensuring elderly patients reach their appointments. Apprenticeships cover roles like adult care worker, social worker, and physiotherapist.

Some of the apprenticeships currently available in the care sector include:

• Level 2 Adult Care Worker
• Level 3 Lead Adult Care Worker
• Level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care
• Level 5 Leader in Adult Care
• Level 5 Nursing Associate
• Level 6 Social Work
• Level 6 Occupational Therapist
• Level 6 Physiotherapist
• Level 6 Registered Nurse

A nursing associate is an exciting new role within the nursing family. The role has been created to give care professionals in nursing home settings the opportunity to progress in their career and support the delivery of excellent nursing care in their community.

Nursing associates do not work in place of registered nurses. Rather, nursing associates work alongside registered nurses to meet the needs of the people they support.

• this role is registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• a nursing associate is educated to foundation degree level, is registered and has a PIN number
• a nursing associate is accountable for their own practice
• once registered, a nursing associate can undertake continuous professional development and even progress into registered nurse training

Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council are supporting the sector in increasing the number of nursing associates being trained and employed in social care settings.

The adult social care sector requires many individuals to do tasks we wouldn't associate with frontline care. A big part of these roles fall under the business qualifications section this can be from administration to financial management and can vary greatly from business to business.

Some apprenticeships that can be done include:

• Level 2 Recruitment Resourcer
• Level 3 Learning and Development Practitioner
• Level 3 Business Administrator
• Level 3 HR Support
• Level 3 Recruitment Consultant
• Level 4 Junior Management Consultant
• Level 4 Policy Officer
• Level 4 Regulatory Compliance Officer
• Level 5 Operations / Departmental Manager
• Level 6 Chartered Manager
• Level 6 Project Manager
• Level 6 Improvement Leader
• Level 7 Senior Leader
• Level 7 Operational Research Specialist
• Level 7 Systems Thinking Practitioner

Apprenticeships are sometimes offered once you already work for a company to progress your career, there are however opportunities to apply directly to them. Below is the UCAS website which is one place you can find these:

Are you an adult social care provider and want to find out how to apply for unspent levy monies to support your apprenticeships? Then become a member for free and gain access to our members only apprenticeship page.