About us
We're mobilising our collective expertise
to drive innovation
in practice
The Healthcare Education Consortium has been established to better meet the needs of healthcare employers by mobilising our collective expertise to drive innovation in practice. Our ambition is to support the delivery of the commitments made by the NHS to meet its long-term workforce plan by developing highly skilled clinical staff through our degree apprenticeship programmes.
The Consortium aims too:
Increase starts
Increase apprentice starts by working in partnership with NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards, co-designing programmes to meet their needs
Coordination
Deliver a coordinated strategy for transformative healthcare degree apprenticeship provision
Effciencies
Drive efficiencies by reducing duplication, pooling resources and expertise
Innovation
Drive innovation and best practice in healthcare education for public benefit
First choice
Be the provider of choice for healthcare employers regarding apprenticeship provision
Best practice
Demonstrate best practice in collaborative working across Consortium university partners, employers and regulatory authorities to support the delivery of a high-quality apprenticeships
Thought leader
Establish the Consortium as a thought leader in healthcare education on a national and international basis
Working in partnership
NHS Long Term Workforce Plan
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The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) aims for the largest workforce expansion in NHS history. Achieving this requires a collaborative approach to developing and delivering degree apprenticeships, offering significant benefits to NHS employers, apprentices, and the public. The NHS Plan aims to significantly expand the number of staff across various clinical roles, including Nurses, Midwives, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Healthcare Assistants, Rehabilitation Workers, Occupational Therapists, Therapeutic Radiographers, Diagnostic Radiographers and Laboratory Scientists.
University Alliance
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All Consortium universities are members of the University Alliance (UA), which represents leading professional and technical universities, educating around 30% of all nursing apprentices in England, plus a substantial number of allied health professionals and healthcare degree apprentices. Consortium universities already have well established partnerships with NHS providers across England.
UVAC
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All Consortium universities are members of the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC). UVAC is one of the most authoritative voices in the sector on all aspects of the policy and operational requirements of degree apprenticeships. UVAC Knowledge Networks for healthcare degree apprenticeships provide a collaborative forum for higher education practitioners to collaborate and enhance practice to better meet the needs of employers and apprentices.
