Proposals for new apprenticeships in healthcare have generated significant discussion on twitter over the past few weeks, particularly related to the consultation in December on proposals to develop an apprenticeship standard for pre-registration physiotherapy.
For our first physiotalk on 2017 on Monday 9 January at 8pm UK time we’ll be discussing the opportunities and challenges associated with modern apprenticeships and the physiotherapy and wider healthcare workforce of now and the future.
Apprenticeship reform in England
In the Autumn statement November 2015 the Chancellor announced that the government would be introducing a new apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on company payrolls to raise £3bn a year, funding three million apprenticeships.
As a result of this, and other apprenticeship reforms, employers will be expected to be more directly involved in supporting apprenticeship activity and developing new standards and frameworks. All public sector organisations, including the NHS, will have a legal duty to support apprenticeship starts and set a target of 2.3% of their workforce.
There is also an expectation that the apprenticeship route can be used to achieve knowledge and skills up to an equivalent of Masters level. A significant growth in the number of higher level apprenticeships is therefore anticipated (Health education England- see link below).
Our tweetchat
But what do these changes mean for the physiotherapy workforce?
During the tweetchat we’ll be discussing what these change may mean for healthcare and physiotherapy, and some of the misconceptions, challenges and opportunities associated with developing apprenticeship standards and apprenticeships at different levels.We hope to share opinions and experiences to date, as well as useful resources.
Useful resources
- English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision
- Apprenticeships (UK gov)
- Apprenticeships (Skills for Health) –includes links to information for the 4 countries of the UK
- Hot Topic: The Apprenticeship Levy (Health Education England)
- Getting Ready for the Levy (Health Education England)
- Higher Apprenticeship and Degree Apprenticeship -Delivery from April 2015 to April 2016: Higher Education Institutions Fact Sheet (Skills Funding Agency)
- The future of apprenticeships in England: guidance for trailblazers- from standards to starts (HM Government)
- Levels of Apprenticeship – see here https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide/overview
Transcript
Missed the chat? You can catch up with the transcript
physiotalk 
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