Spire Healthcare welcomes 12 new nursing apprentices as it continues to expand its nursing apprenticeship programme

• Spire runs one of the largest nursing apprenticeship programmes in England
• Spire’s nursing apprentices benefit the broader healthcare system – including the NHS

Spire Healthcare has welcomed 12 new nursing apprentices to 10 of its English hospitals as part of its expanding nursing apprenticeship programme. These 12 apprentices are taking their first steps in a 4-year nurse degree apprenticeship programme leading to a BSc in Adult Nursing.

Spire currently has 160 nurse apprentices enrolled in its apprenticeship programme. The Spire hospitals that have welcomed new nurse apprentices this December are: Cheshire, Clare Park in Surrey, Harpenden, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Wirral and Claremont in Sheffield.

All 12 nursing apprentices successfully passed a rigorous application process and assessment to join Spire’s apprenticeship programme run in conjunction with The University of Sunderland. They will enjoy remote studying with The University of Sunderland, as well as placements in a wide range of nursing settings such as wards, outpatients, operating theatres, hospices, A&E and more. By developing new knowledge, skills and thinking whilst completing their degree, Spire’s nursing apprentices will gain a broad experience of healthcare in England and be well-prepared for their future nursing career. The benefit of the degree apprenticeship route is the ability to earn while learning, with a starting salary of approximately £21,000 depending on previous experience.

Some of Spire’s 160 nursing apprentices graduated in November with high honours, delivering critically needed nursing skills directly into the UK healthcare sector. Spire is currently training and supporting approximately 500 apprentices across a wide range of clinical and non-clinical specialties – this represents some five percent of Spire’s total permanent workforce.

Professor Lisa Grant, Group Clinical Director and Chief Nurse of Spire Healthcare said: “I am incredibly proud to see these new apprentices start their nursing careers at Spire Healthcare. Our four-year partnership with The University of Sunderland has already provided hundreds of school leavers, university graduates and people looking to retrain, the opportunity to earn while they learn, and we’re pleased to be extending this programme even further.

“National shortages in healthcare professionals are still a concern for all healthcare providers in England. This is why continued investment in our nursing apprenticeship programme - one of the largest of a single organisation in England - is so important to build a talent pipeline for our business and the broader healthcare sector. Importantly, this programme contributes to the sustainability of the whole healthcare sector in the UK, because many of our graduates will go on to careers in the NHS and elsewhere – something we encourage as a net contributor to society.

“Nurses have a vital role in delivering care and support to patients while in and out of hospital and this apprenticeship programme helps introduce more people into the profession.”

Sue Brent, Head of the School or Nursing and Health Sciences at The University of Sunderland, said: “I wish these new nursing apprentices all the best in their new careers at Spire Healthcare.

"The Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship plays a major role in developing future talent for Spire and the healthcare system as a whole. The programme is delivered nationally within the Spire group and offers greater flexibility than a traditional degree for the nursing apprentices.

“It was wonderful to see Spire Healthcare recently named Employer of the Year during our University of Sunderland and MTC Training Awards. This demonstrates Spire's commitment to supporting their apprentices during their programme of learning."