Why did The Walton Centre choose to offer Degree Apprenticeships?

We were attracted to the Healthcare Science Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship as the apprentice would be an employee during their training. This provides a difference from other training programmes as there is a two-way commitment between the apprentice and the organisation.

The apprentices are recruited directly by us, enabling us to ensure the apprentice is the correct fit for the role and the organisation. After three decades in Neurophysiology, I can see that degree apprenticeships promotes quality within the profession. This is important as our apprentices are the Clinical Physiologists of the future.

In addition to learning clinical skills and developing academic knowledge, the apprentices have plenty of opportunities to learn about ‘the world of work’ as they are integrated into the team. This allows time to attend department and multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, understand how the service functions and the wider challenges faced by NHS organisations.

There is also plenty of time to work alongside all members of the team to allow a chance to learn from Clinical Physiologists at various levels within their career. In addition, incidental discussions in the team help to develop communication skills and build confidence. As with all employees, apprentices have annual appraisals with their line manager, this demonstrates their progress and opinion matters.  

The apprentices attend Trust mandatory training sessions which enables them to meet with many other employees within the organisation and reinforces the joint responsibilities of all NHS employees.

What impact have your degree apprentices had in your organisation?

Without a doubt, a real return on investment! The team involved in training sees the apprentices are part of our team, which is very motivating for everyone!

As the apprentices have significant time within the workplace to develop their skills of delivering patient care, which is at the centre of everything we do. There are also opportunities for them to become involved in audits and service developments, so that, hopefully, they feel valued and that their opinion and contributions matter. As a result, apprentices Melfield and Emma were key to assisting in the completion of a Trust audit project. This provided a great experience for them and they did an excellent job, I was really proud of them.

Would you recommend Manchester Met and the Healthcare Science Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship to other employers?

Absolutely! I feel quite emotional, reflecting on Melfield and Emma’s journey and what they have achieved three years on. It’s amazing to be able to take two individuals from very different routes and see them achieve outstanding results on the programme.

As a manager, I have a responsibility to share the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. 

We are now appointing another two degree apprentices and so the cycle continues. This training programme helps with succession planning and gives The Walton Centre assurance that we are training high-calibre apprentices to deliver high-quality care.

I can’t imagine why anyone would want to train any other way.