Help is at hand for parents of young people looking to embark on NHS apprenticeships.
In a first for the region’s hospitals, NHS Humber Health Partnership has launched a new Parents Guide to Apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship Week, 10-16 February 2025.
The guide is designed to help parents, carers and guardians better understand what’s involved in an apprenticeship and provide key information to help with decision-making, such as educational entry requirements, financial support and how family benefits may be affected.
Anne Burdis, Widening Participation Manager, says: “We have been providing hospital-based apprenticeship opportunities in Hull for over ten years now, and in that time, we’ve come to realise just how important it is for parents and guardians to be a part of a young person’s apprenticeship journey.
“Aspiring apprentices usually have a number of key questions around qualifications, time commitment and so on, but the questions which parents and guardians have are often very different.
“With support from our own apprentices, training providers and through discussion with parents at careers events, we have devised our own parents guide to provide quick and easy access to advice and further sources of information. We want this to be helpful for the whole family in understanding what’s involved in a hospital-based apprenticeship and where more help can be found if required.”
The 12-page guide, which also contains tips, background information and answers to some of parents’ most frequently asked questions, is available online at https://hey-nhs.pagetiger.com/HHPParentsGuide/1
It will also be presented to parents and carers this week as part of a special webinar hosted by the Hull and East Riding Business Growth and Skills Hub. On Thursday 13th February, parents and carers will hear from Hull Hospitals staff as well as some of the region’s other large employers and apprenticeship champions, such as BAE Systems, Siemens, Sewells, and Cranswick Foods.
Katherine Bosanquet, Training and Development Manager, says: “The guide contains some of the core information about apprenticeships which both apprentices and their parents or guardians will want to refer back to, as well as some of the handy stuff to know, like how to get a NUS card and how having an apprentice in the household can affect council tax or child benefits.
“As an employer of some 17,000 people across the region, we recognise the importance of ‘growing our own’ and we’re proud to have a really strong track record of supporting both new recruits and existing staff through apprenticeship training.
“Our parents guide is being published this week alongside a further guide for managers to ensure we can support our new and aspiring apprentices as far as possible.”