Summary
These qualifications can be fully funded so free to the practice. We have the opportunity to access fully funded apprenticeship qualifications. Although General Practices and Care and Care with Nursing Homes don’t pay into the Apprenticeship Levy, they are expected to fund 5% of the cost of an apprenticeship which will be in the region of £175-£1,350 per person. However, by working with some of our NHS partner organisations, who do pay into the Levy, we can arrange for this cost to be covered. This could be for existing employees or you could consider employing a new Apprentice. The two apprenticeship providers below will be able to help you with any necessary recruitment.
If you do recruit a new apprentice, you may be eligible to receive some available grants, this can be discussed in detail if this is of interest:
- £1,000 government grant for 16-18 year old recruits
- £3,000 local authority grant for any age new recruit. There are criteria around this being awarded such as this being the first apprentice employed in the previous two years
Apprenticeships can be completed from Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE Level) to Level 7 (equivalent to post graduate level) and cover a wide range of subject areas from accountancy, leadership and management to clinical skills apprenticeships or hospitality. They take in the region of 18 months to complete but they are mainly work-based qualifications. Providers will visit the place of work and support the learner in their working environment to help them complete the programme and assess their achievement against the framework. There may be a need for some elements of the programme to be completed out of the workplace for example to complete the maths and English workshops and examinations, if required.
Entry criteria:
Usually work a minimum of 30 hours to enable you to do an apprenticeship, there are exceptions to this. Maths and English may be required, this can sometimes be undertaken as part of the apprenticeship.
Provider:
We have identified three recommended training providers but you can choose to use an alternative provider. Damar Training are based in Stockport and provide a whole host of business skill related apprenticeship programmes including Customer Service, Business Administration, Medical Administration, Team Leading and Management. Total People are another provider we have met with, they can provide Apprenticeships in Health Care Support Worker/Senior Health Care Support Worker (more suited to General Practice) or Lead Adult Care Worker (more suited to Care and Care with Nursing Homes) as well as all the business related apprenticeship programmes. Rochdale Training is another provider who can provide a range of both administration and health related apprenticeships across Stockport.
- The contact for Damar Training is Debbie Smith and she can be contacted via 0161 480 8171 Ext: 321/ 07960 815 700/ Debbie.Smith@damartraining.com
- The contact for Total People is Leanne Shaw, Health and Social Care Sector Manager and she can be contacted via 01606 734000 / 07966 515814 / LShaw@totalpeople.co.uk
- The contact for Rochdale Training is Mark Whittaker. He can be contacted via 01706 631 417 / 07432471668 / MWhittaker@rochdaletraining.co.uk
Alternatively, a range of providers can be accessed via this link – https://findapprenticeshiptraining.apprenticeships.education.gov.uk/ . This allows you to check details about prospective training providers across the range of topics you may be interested in.
Alternatively we have a fantastic resources here in Stockport, the Apprenticeship Store, situated on Stockport Exchange. People can drop in, no appointment necessary or contact apprenticeship@stockport.gov.uk/ 0161 474 4745. They provide apprenticeship advice and guidance for either employer or potential apprentice.
Next Steps:
If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity to develop your workforce please:
- Contact the CCG Education, Training & Development team to advise you have somebody interested in completing an apprenticeship via stoccg.learningdevelopment@nhs.net so we can make the arrangements to cover the 5% course charge.
- Once the Levy transfer has been agreed, contact the relevant training provider to discuss and arrange a visit to identify which is the most suitable apprenticeship standard and level for each of your interested employees
- If you are planning to employ a new apprentice and therefore may be eligible to receive the local authority grants as outlined above please contact Nick Hill, Growth Manager, Economy, Work & Skills at SMBC. Nick will want to confirm with you that the potential of claiming the grant has been a deciding factor in you being in a position to employ a new apprentice and that it has changed your circumstances to enable you to afford to do this. If you would like to discuss this with me first please do. Nick can be contacted on – 0161 4743736/ 07800 618203 or nick.hill@stockport.gov.uk
Contact:
The Education and Training Team via email to: stoccg.learningdevelopment@nhs.net.
Or the Apprenticeship Store, situated on Stockport Exchange. People can drop in, no appointment necessary or contact apprenticeship@stockport.gov.uk/ 0161 474 4745. They provide apprenticeship advice and guidance for either employer or potential apprentice.
Further Information:
Please read these case studies showing apprentices who have been employed within Stockport General Practice – Stockport General Practice Apprenticeship Case Studies