Fantastic apprenticeship opportunities in Devon NHS

Navigating your way through your career is a daunting prospect. You may be a recent school leaver or in the final year of your studies and still weighing up what your next steps could be; do you continue with further education, or do you get the first job available so you can start earning some money? 

There is a solution out there that ticks both boxes and that is an apprenticeship. If you are aged 16 or older and want on-the-job training, to earn a salary and gain a qualification, an apprenticeship could be perfect for you. 

This path isn’t just for school leavers – apprenticeships are for everyone. It’s never too late to become an apprentice and these positions are open to all. You can use an apprenticeship to upskill within your current career, or it can be used to support a total career change.

National Apprenticeship Week 2025 takes place from 10 to 16 February and is a week-long celebration that brings together businesses and the education sector with apprentices across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make.

You can take part in this event at numerous workshops held across the country and virtually thanks to the wide range of online classes and videos available to help you start your apprenticeship adventure.

Here at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, we are incredibly proud of our workforce and have a long history of offering apprenticeship careers for those looking to work within the health industry.

We have more than 250 apprentices, and with a new cohort starting in March, this will see us reach a total of more than 500 apprentices since this new scheme began in 2020.

We offer apprenticeships in 50 different areas of expertise; 27 are clinical and 23 are non-clinical. This includes nurse degree apprenticeships, social workers, podiatrists, operating department practitioners to name just a few. 

We are also very proud of our nurse degree apprentices programme. Around 30 completed this course in September 2024 and all of whom remained in Devon working as registered nurses; We also support other local employers to support apprentices through levy transfer.

We are holding an Education and Apprenticeships Careers open day on Thursday February 13 in the Horizon Centre which is located on the grounds of Torbay Hospital, from 9am to 4pm. 

Attending the event will be our local schools, colleges, training providers, staff and members of the community. There is always a great deal of interest in apprenticeship and education events, the day is typically very busy and a lot of fun!

Those attending will have the unique opportunity to speak to our experts to learn more about working for the NHS in roles such as physiotherapy, cardiology, occupational therapy, and the opportunities we have within the medical team and operating departments. 

We welcome the public, students, our staff, family and friends to attend to see what’s happening, and for you all to discover how our talented people inspire and support the next generation of those wanting to work in healthcare and the NHS. 

But it’s not just roles for medical professionals, there are apprenticeships in areas such as recruitment, our innovative digital and simulation teams, human resources, IT and project management to name but a few.

If you have a skill or an area that you are passionate about, you will find an apprenticeship to match.

So please do join us and take the chance to discuss your career aspirations and learn about the fantastic opportunities available in the NHS.

For more information, please contact me and my team via email at tsdft.apprenticeships@nhs.net. 

You can also head to the apprenticeship section on our website www.TorbayAndSouthDevon.nhs.uk for further details on the opportunities we have here at our organisation. 

Lastly, you can find out more about what is happening across the region in support of this week by visiting www.NationalApprenticeshipWeek.co.uk.

We hope you see you soon!