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<p>The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care are working
together, along with employers and Health Education England (HEE), to make sure that
the NHS is fully supported to recruit the apprentices that they need to deliver high
quality care.</p><p>I met my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health, in January
2019, where we had a constructive discussion about the ways in which we are jointly
supporting the NHS. The detailed steps that we have taken together are set out in
the government’s response to the Education Select Committee’s inquiry on nurse degree
apprenticeships, which was published in March 2019.</p><p>We are already seeing the
positive impact that apprenticeships can make in the NHS to workforce recruitment
and retention. For example, in the last financial year, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust employed nearly 600 Level 2 to 7 apprentices, across 29 programmes and a variety
of disciplines, ranging from Business Administration to Facilities Management to Dental
Nursing. The Trust has used the apprenticeship levy to build interest across the organisation
and attract employees into rewarding apprenticeship roles.</p><p>In addition, Registered
Nurse degree apprenticeship and Nursing Associate starts in the first half of 2018/19
are 77% and 30% higher respectively than the starts reported in the entire 2017/18
year.</p><p>Both departments continue to collaborate and work closely with employers
and our delivery partners to share best practice and support a wide programme of activities
to help NHS employers to get the most from our apprenticeship reforms.</p><p> </p>
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