Apprenticeships and Widening Participation

The aim of widening participation is to ensure that all those who have the ability to benefit from higher education have the opportunity to do so.

Our Widening Participation team are responsible for supporting apprenticeships and other career transition programmes relevant to band 1 to 9 staff. These programmes are freely available to all staff and they help to build on the skills of our workforce and provide them with opportunities for career progression. We are available to advise and support learners who are interested in undertaking these programmes.

We work with clinical and non-clinical services, prospective learners, their managers, local training providers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), to ensure relevant training opportunities are available to meet the needs of our workforce and that all learners have an outstanding experience of studying at Berkshire Healthcare.

Apprenticeships are a great way to learn, earn and gain invaluable experience of real work whilst studying. Berkshire Healthcare offers a wide variety of apprenticeship programmes to staff working in both clinical and non-clinical roles.   

Apprenticeship programmes are a financial investment for the Trust and could cost up to £30,000 per programme including salary support, study leave and supervision. Therefore, it is important to explore the options carefully and understand the commitment prior to making the application for apprenticeship programmes.  

The support of your line manager is a mandatory requirement prior to commencing the application process. 

For some basic information on the principles of apprenticeships please read the apprenticeships info sheet

Through our Careers Clinics, we support our staff with guidance and advice regarding career development and training opportunities. These will be advertised through L&D News, but you can get in touch by emailing us at apprenticeships@berkshire.nhs.uk.

Careers Events

We visit schools to promote health careers and raise awareness of the variety of roles within the NHS, actively promoting the “Step Into the NHS” competition. We also encourage staff to become NHS Ambassadors to make sure there is representation from all services and disciplines at careers and school events. We maintain the NHS Ambassador database and schedule attendance at events.

If you want to volunteer to become an NHS Ambassador, email NHSambassadors@berkshire.nhs.uk.

T-Levels

This year, we'll be welcoming T-Level students into our Trust. These Level 3 learners will complete industrial placements (similar to work experience) with us, putting their knowledge into practice as they learn. It will also provide us with a pipeline of potential new recruits.

New Apprentices

We encourage services to recruit new Apprentices (Business Administrators/IT Helpdesk Technicians/Healthcare Support Workers) to provide them with their first introduction into work.

We also work in partnership with our ICS colleagues to introduce rotational apprenticeships and attend careers events to promote the NHS as an employer of choice.

If you're interested in learning more about taking on an Apprentice, email us at apprenticeships@berkshire.nhs.uk.