- Conference
- 2011 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 3 December 2010
- Decision
- Carried
Conference re-affirms its commitment to the development of apprenticeships within the NHS and notes the success of the last Labour Government in significantly increasing the number of apprenticeships in the NHS in England.
Apprenticeships in the NHS can be used as a significant career development tool for new and existing staff providing the means of attracting young people into the health workforce and giving existing staff in pay bands 1 to 4 a high quality opportunity to develop themselves and to progress in their careers.
Conference remains committed to the principle that apprentices should be directly employed on Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions with their development governed through Annex U of the AfC handbook and the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF). For new starters there should also be the guarantee of a job at the end of the scheme. Apprenticeships should be included and seen as a significant tool in workforce planning.
Whilst acknowledging the development of apprenticeships in the NHS in England, Conference recognises that a consistent approach is needed across the four countries to develop apprenticeships for ancillary and maintenance and administrative and clerical roles.
Conference sees the social partnership model at four countries/regional/branch level being essential to taking any work forward on the development of apprenticeships.
Conference calls on the Health Group Executive to:
1)Carry out a review of what apprenticeship arrangements currently exist in the NHS across the four countries including the number and nature of schemes and the terms and conditions of these workers along with what systems are in place for monitoring progress of new arrangements;
2)Raise through the NHS Staff Council and partnership forums the need for a consistent approach to apprenticeships across the four countries particularly in terms of workforce planning, employment on AfC terms and conditions and the application of Annex U;
3)Encourage all branches to actively recruit apprentices into UNISON.