Shaunna Farley – Monday 10th February – 8am.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is celebrating 15 years of Apprenticeships at the Trust this National Apprenticeship Week. Over the 15-years since their introduction, the Trust has seen over 3,600 apprentices past and present, who have been employed by WMAS.
National Apprenticeship Week is marked across the 10th-16th February and aims to shine a light on the amazing work being done by employers and apprentices across the country.
West Midlands Ambulance Service is one of the first Ambulance Trusts approved as an Apprenticeship Main Training Provider with the Education and Skills Funding Agency for Higher Level Apprenticeships. The Trust remains the most productive organisation in the West Midlands region and within the ambulance sector, for developing our staff through the delivery of the apprenticeship standards, with the largest provision of student paramedic registered apprentices.
The Trust currently has 20 apprenticeship programmes and works in collaboration with 12 partner universities and 11 apprenticeship training providers and colleges to facilitate staff’s progression.
The Trust first introduced apprenticeship programmes in 2010, when it introduced the very first apprenticeship which still runs at the Trust today, the Motor Vehicle Apprenticeship. In October 2012, the Trust announced its Non-Emergency Patient Transport Scheme and over the twelve years we have recruited over 300 apprentices onto this scheme. To date, the Trust currently has several apprenticeship routes to offer, ranging from level 2 to level 7 apprenticeships.
The Trust is actively leading at a national level to ensure it is both sighted on sector development and actively involved in writing legislation to meet the needs of educational programmes for Apprenticeships and has been invited by Ofsted this year to act as part of their pilot scheme for their new improved education inspection framework.
The Trust has now commenced its planning submission for Office for Students to further its internal position and educational development and to continue progress for the delivery of its higher education apprenticeships for Paramedic Sciences.
Director of People, Carla Beechey said: “Apprenticeships are central to assist the Trust to build our future workforce. I would like to thank everyone involved in supporting our apprenticeship schemes and assisting with the development of our staff.”
“Our workforce aims to be reflective of the communities we serve, and apprenticeships provide a fantastic opportunity for the people within our local community to join the team and learn skills for life.”
Education and Apprenticeship Manager, Sophie Cooper said: “We’re so proud of all of our past and present apprentices and it’s so exciting to take the opportunity on National Apprenticeship Week to highlight their hard work, and the development opportunities that we have on offer within the Trust.”
Recruitment Manager, Louise Jones said: “We’re so excited to be marking National Apprenticeship Week and highlighting some of the apprenticeships we currently have available to apply for.
“It’s a common misconception that as a service, we only recruit for Paramedics, but that just is not true. We have a broad range of apprenticeships ranging from our Student Paramedic training course, Motor Vehicle apprentices, Business Admin and much more.
“If you’d like to find out more about roles available at the Trust, you can do so by visiting www.jobs.nhs.uk and searching for West Midlands Ambulance Service.
The Trust will be celebrating National Apprenticeship Week and showcasing the fantastic apprentices and opportunities available at the Trust on @OfficialWMAS social media on Facebook, Instagram, X and Threads, by sharing the stories of some past and present apprentices and celebrating their hard work and progression with the Trust.
ENDS.