Am I eligible to do an apprenticeship?

You are eligible if you:

• Either have a UK passport or have lived in the European Economic Area for the past three years
• Don’t have an equivalent or higher level qualification in the same subject area
• Are employed for 30 hours or more per week (although apprenticeships are extended to allow for slightly shorter working weeks).

I work part time. Can I still do an apprenticeship?

Yes - if your manager agrees that they can support your apprenticeship with reduced hours (less than 30 hours per week). This may be dependent on the capacity of your team or ward or your shift pattern. For example, staff who only work nights may find it difficult to have sufficient learning opportunities in their role to meet the requirements of the apprenticeship. The minimum number of hours we can accept onto an apprenticeship is 22.5 hours per week.

Are apprenticeships only open to new staff?

All of our apprenticeships are open to existing members of staff with their manager’s approval.  Some vacancies are advertised as apprenticeships. For example, Healthcare Support Worker vacancies are advertised as apprenticeships.

I was recruited as a Health Care Support Worker apprentice. What happens if I already have a Level 3 Healthcare qualification?

Once you are selected, we will look at any certificates you have gained in equivalent qualifications. If these exempt you from our apprenticeship programme, you will be offered a substantive contract. You will still participate in initial training and induction over the first three weeks of your employment to learn about your specific role and the ways of working in this Trust.

Where previous qualifications are similar but not a direct match, it may be that your apprenticeship is shortened slightly to take into account your prior learning.

Do I need to have 20% of my working time allocated to my apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship funding requires that 20% of your time must be spent as ‘Off-the-Job’ training, which is time spent learning something new. This does not need to all be scheduled, protected time.  As an apprenticeship is all about workplace learning, this includes time when you in your normal workplace (e.g. applying learning, being shown a new skill by a member of staff etc). We would expect you to have some allocated time to complete assignments, attend study sessions (online or face to face) and do e-learning or other independent research, however the timing of this must be agreed with your manager and patients need to come first so there needs to be a degree of flexibility.

Will I have time to do functional skills classes if I need them?

If you need to attend functional skills classes, you should be released by your manager to do so. This is in addition to the 20% Off the Job learning time. You may be told that you need to start your functional skills classes before starting your apprenticeship programme if you have to achieve more than one level.

I have Maths and English qualifications from oversees. Do I need to do the level 2 classes and exam?

If you provide certificate evidence of your qualifications from oversees, we can request for a Naric conversion which will confirm whether one or both are equivalent and can exempt you from level 2 functional skills classes.

I have Maths and English level 2 qualifications. Do I still need to do the initial assessment?

Yes – all apprentices have to complete an initial assessment in Maths and English as part of enrolment. A requirement of an apprenticeship is to stretch and challenge your functional skills to support your career development. The purpose of the initial assessment is to understand what support you may need from your trainer/assessor throughout your apprenticeship. You will need to provide certificated evidence of your Maths and English qualifications to be exempt from doing the classes and exams.

I am on a fixed term apprenticeship contract. What happens when I finish my apprenticeship?

If you are employed on an apprenticeship contract, you will be transferred to a substantive contract on successful completion of your End Point Assessment. Your manager will need to complete a Change of Details (COD) Form to action this. This will not have any impact on your pay.

How do I find out more?

If you have a question, please email apprenticeships@hhft.nhs.uk and one of the team will either answer it or signpost you to someone else who can help. Alternatively, click on the links above which will guide you to more information, and members of the team that you can contact.