Apprenticeships
Health and Social Care apprenticeships offer a great way to start a career in a rewarding and in-demand field.
Apprenticeships combine on-the-job training with off-the-job study. This allows you to learn the skills you need while earning a salary.
Apprenticeships are available from entry-level roles to more advanced positions.
What you need to know about apprenticeships
Many employers will pay you more than the minimum wage.
If you are aged 16 to 18, or 19+ and in your first year of an apprenticeship, the minimum you should receive the National Minimum Wage for apprentices
Apprenticeships take between one and five years to complete.
Anyone over the age of 16 can do an apprenticeship.
During a typical week, you will spend four days on work placement and one day at a training centre or college.
You will develop your knowledge, including English and maths skills.
Completing your apprenticeship will get you a competence qualification. This is based on what you can do in the workplace. You will also get a knowledge qualification. In some instances, you will get a qualification combining both.
Apprenticeship levels
The level of apprenticeship you choose depends on your qualifications and experience, as well as the role you are interested in. Apprenticeships levels range from 2 to 7:
- Level 2 - the same as GCSEs
- Level 3 - the same as A-levels
- Levels 4 and 5 - the same as a foundation degree and above
- Levels 6 and 7 - the same as a full bachelor’s or Master’s degree
Entry requirements
Entry requirements will depend on the employer and the type and level of apprenticeship.
For example, you may need four or five GCSEs at grades 9-4/A-C or equivalent to do a level 3 apprenticeship.
You need A-levels, equivalent level 3 qualifications or relevant levels of experience to start a level 5 or 6 apprenticeship.
Health and Social Care Apprenticeships
There are a variety of apprenticeship schemes available. Each scheme will develop our Health and Social Care workforce at every level.
Below are details of our most common Health and Social Care Apprenticeships. More detail is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education at www.instituteforapprenticeships.org.
Level 2
- Adult Care Worker – duration 12 months
- Healthcare Support Worker – duration 12 months
- Maternity Support Worker – duration 12 months
- Pharmacy service assistants – duration 12-15 months
Level 3
- Lead Adult Care Worker – duration 18 months
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker – duration 24 months
- Prosthetic and Orthotic Technician – duration 18 months
- Trainee pharmacy technician – duration 24 months
Level 4
- Lead Practitioner in Adult Care – duration 18 months
- Mammography Associate – duration 12 months
Level 5
- Leader in Adult Care (level 5) – duration 18 months
- Assistant Practitioner (Health) – duration 24 months
- Nursing Associate – duration 24 months
Level 6
- Midwife – duration 48 months
- Registered Nurse – duration 48 months
- Social Worker – duration 36 months
- Sonographer – duration 36 months
- Speech and Language Therapist – duration 48 months
- Physiotherapist – duration 48 months
- Podiatrist – duration 48 months
- Prosthetist and Orthotist – duration 48 months
- Paramedic – duration 36 months
- Operating Department Practitioner – duration 48 months
- Occupational Therapist – duration 48 months
- Enhanced Clinical Practitioner - duration 18 months
- Dietitian – duration 48 months
- Diagnostic Radiographer – duration 36 months
- Therapeutic Radiographer – duration 36 months
Level 7
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner – duration 36 months
- Arts Therapist – duration 24 months
- District Nurse – duration 24 months
- Specialist Community Public Health Nurse – duration18 months
Allied Health Professions Apprenticeships
Level 2
- Healthcare Support Worker – duration 12 months
Level 3
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker – duration 24 months
- Prosthetic and Orthotic Technician – duration 18 months
Level 4
- Mammography Associate – duration 12 months
Level 5
- Assistant Practitioner (Health) – duration 24 months
Level 6
- Sonographer – duration 36 months
- Speech and Language Therapist – duration 48 months
- Physiotherapist – duration 48 months
- Podiatrist – duration 48 months
- Prosthetist and Orthotist – duration 48 months
- Paramedic – duration 36 months
- Operating Department Practitioner – duration 48 months
- Occupational Therapist – duration 48 months
- Enhanced Clinical Practitioner – duration 18 months
- Dietitian – duration 48 months
- Diagnostic Radiographer – duration 36 months
- Therapeutic Radiographer – duration 36 months
Level 7
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner – duration 36 months
- Arts Therapist – duration 24 months
Midwifery Apprenticeships
A midwifery degree apprenticeship typically lasts three to four years.
You will study part-time at university and train in a maternity unit at an acute hospital. This provides you with a full range of practice settings to gain the required experience.
Level 6
Nursing Apprenticeships
Level 2
- Healthcare Support Worker
Healthcare support workers work across a variety of settings, from mental health to children’s services. The choice is yours. You will be supervised by a healthcare professional to help patients on their journey back to full health.
Level 3
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker
Senior healthcare support workers work in a range of settings. Places where you can work include:- hospitals
- as part of a community team
- day–case units
- birthing centres
- at individual’s homes
- operating theatres
- nursing or care homes
- hospices
- general practice
Level 5
- Assistant Practitioner (Health)
Assistant practitioners are sometimes known as associate practitioners. You will have high levels of skill and experience in a particular area of clinical practice. You will not be a registered healthcare professionals. - Nursing Associate - duration 24 months (Foundation degree approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council)
Nursing associates deliver care for patients and the public. Your skills and responsibilities will vary, depending on the care setting you work in.
This is a new occupation, introduced to bridge the gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses. Nursing associates enable registered nurses to focus on more complex clinical duties.
Becoming a nursing associate can give you a route into graduate level nursing.
You can work in the public, independent and voluntary sectors. It is a statutory regulated profession. You will work with healthcare support workers and registered nurses in all four fields of nursing:- adult
- children’s
- mental health
- learning disability
Level 6
- Registered Nurse
Registered nurses work as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing direct care to patients. You can work in a variety of settings, from hospital wards to a care home or a patients home. - Enhanced Clinical Practitioner
Enhanced Clinical Practitioners are qualified health and social care professionals. You will work at an enhanced level of practice with specific knowledge and skills in a field of expertise,
Level 7
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner
Advanced Clinical Practitioners are experienced clinicians. You will be able to show your expertise in your area of practice. - District Nurse
District nurses assess the healthcare needs of patients and families. You will monitor the quality of care given and you will be accountable for the delivery of care. - Specialist Community Public Health Nurse
Public health nurses are qualified registered nurses or midwives. They have a vital role in promoting and protecting the public’s health.
You will have experience or be trained in specialist in areas, such as health protection or sexual health.
You may promote healthy lifestyles to reduce the likelihood of ill–health. You can support people who have long–term illness. You can prevent illness by giving immunisations or by carrying out screening interventions.
Pharmacy Apprenticeships
The following pharmacy apprenticeships are currently available.
Level 2
- Pharmacy Service Assistants – duration 12 to 15 months
A Pharmacy Services Assistant (PSA) provides pharmacy and medicines services to patients, the public and other professional healthcare teams.
Supervision is provided by a Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician, or other accountable healthcare professional.
You will work in a variety of pharmacy environments to:- support the supply, preparation and assembly of medicines and products.
- issue medicines and products them to patients and other healthcare professionals.
- provide advice to patients to help them make effective use of their medicines.
- order and receive medicines, as well as their storage, disposal and return.
- give information about healthy lifestyle choices and relevant screening services.
Level 3
- Trainee pharmacy technician – duration 24 months
Pharmacy Technicians are registered professionals working within the regulatory standards for pharmacy, as set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Pharmacy Order 2010.
You can work in a wide range of settings, including:- registered pharmacies
- community services
- justice (the Prison Service)
- GP practices
- dispensing doctors’ practices
- care homes
- hospitals
- mental health
- defence (HM Armed Services)
- within the pharmaceutical industry.
Adult Care Worker Apprenticeship
Level 2
- Diploma in Care – duration 12–18 months
Adult care workers are frontline staff who help adults with their care and support needs.
You will work to achieve people's personal goals that enable them to live independently and safely. You will support them to have control and choice in their lives.