Apprenticeships remain a vital tool in tackling skills shortages
The NHS was one of the organisations hit hardest by Covid-19 - with the virus causing something of an exodus of staff.
As soon as the pandemic hit, the already-stretched NHS was pushed to its limits. Health and social care workers had to immediately respond and adapt to increased patient numbers, unknown treatment plans, a lack of PPE, new working practices and shortages of staff and skills.
Many experienced professionals left or retired early, due to the intense pressure. Some workers had to self-isolate or stay at home after contracting the virus themselves - causing long and short-term symptoms. Others had to take time out to care for family members.
It all created a big skills gap, which is still being tackled in a version of 'catch up'.
Impact on skills
Some NHS trusts employed - often as healthcare assistants - unskilled people who had been furloughed from other industries. The trusts then had to move their experienced staff around to try to fill gaps in clinical skills.
It helped in the short term, but Andrew Lovegrove from Skills for Health said the UK needed a longer-term approach: "The… fallout from Covid-19 is going to be with us for a long time. We need to think differently; not just about how we deliver our services but crucially, about who is going to provide them and in what way."
…And he was right.
Increased training need
A Skills for Health report recommended that the NHS continued to roll out not only training for people who joined during the pandemic - but also the wider NHS community, across several key areas:
What does this mean for the future?
The NHS continues its recruitment drive to fill gaps within the service.
And help is at hand.
As the UK's largest employer, the NHS contributes over £250 million to the apprenticeship levy every year - a pot of money ringfenced to spend on apprenticeships training. Each trust accrues levy funds each month in their own AS (apprenticeship service) account to spend on training.
And like in many other sectors, much of this money is lying unspent. Why not use your funds on apprenticeships to bridge the skills gap? Apprenticeships have always been a great option for NHS trusts - and now, more than ever, they could help to protect NHS staffing.
There are scores of relevant apprenticeships available to the NHS - from pharmacy assistant to registered nurse. Apprentices gain practical experience of working in a healthcare setting from day one, and master the specific skills required for their roles. Which is all great news for the trusts still struggling to increase staff numbers.
To find out more about NHS apprenticeships and how your trust can pay for training using your levy funds, download your NHS guide to the apprenticeship levy.