At Sussex Partnership, we believe apprenticeships are important and worth investing in. We are committed to continuing to build our apprenticeship offer, and to support our apprentices to get the most out of their experience.
Our apprenticeship vision is to create a sustainable long term investment in supporting the development of apprenticeship opportunities for new and existing staff.
What is an apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a job with an accompanying skills development programme. An apprentice gains the technical knowledge, practical experience and wider skills they need for their immediate job and future career, all while continuing to be paid in their existing role. An apprenticeship involves a mix of learning in the workplace, formal off-the-job training, and the opportunity to practice new skills in a real world environment.
Doing an apprenticeship is a commitment. It takes time and hard work. But it’s worth it.
The benefits of completing an apprenticeship include:
Further your career potential
Be recognised for the work you do
Gain valuable work experience
Develop job specific skills
Study whilst continuing to work
Achieve nationally recognised qualifications
You are enabled and supported to do your work in the best way possible, which ultimately delivers the best results for the people under the care of our services
Widening access to career opportunities and progression
What apprenticeships are available?
We offer a wide range of clinical and administrative based apprenticeships, ranging from Level 2 GCSE level to a Level 7 at Master’s Degree level.
We currently offer apprenticeships in the following professional areas:
- Allied health professions
- Psychology and psychological therapies
- Social work
- Healthcare support workers
- Nursing
- Support services
In 2019, we became an employer provider, meaning that we are able to deliver our own, in-house apprenticeships: Level 3 Senior Healthcare Support Worker and Level 3 Business Administration. Beyond these, our apprenticeships are delivered externally and fully supported within the Trust.
At the moment, most of our apprenticeship opportunities are for existing staff within the Trust. Staff members retain their existing role/salary while they complete their apprenticeship. To be eligible for an apprenticeship as an existing member of staff, it must be relevant to your existing job role, and you need the approval and support of your line manager. You also need to have worked at the Trust for at least six months, and to have completed all your statutory and mandatory training.
For those people who join us as new recruits to start their apprenticeship, they do so on a fixed term contract (dependent on apprenticeship length)
This depends on the level and type of apprenticeship, as well as the provider. Levels 2 – 3 take place within Trust premises, while Level 4 upwards tend to involve mandatory classroom attendance.
- The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education page is a great website to visit to learn more about apprenticeships
- Are you a parent who would like to know more about Apprenticeships? click here to find out more
Enterprise Bill: Public Sector Apprenticeship Targets
The government aims to deliver 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. Expanding the number of apprenticeships in the public sector will support growth in the programme and will also be a clear sign that the government is investing in apprenticeships.
Please see link for more information: Enterprise Bill: Public Sector
The Trust is working towards meeting the Enterprise Bill (See below):
- Between April 2021 to 31 March 2022 we had 99 staff enrol onto an apprenticeship programme
- The number of staff undertaking an apprenticeship qualification as of 31st March 2021 = 124 (new and existing)
- The number of staff undertaking an apprenticeship qualification as of 31st March 2022 = 138 (new and existing staff)
- Percentage of staff in the Trust that were enrolled onto an apprenticeship as of 31st March 2022 = 2.81%
Join us
Existing staff members are invited to express their interest by contacting the Education and Training Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For those who do not work for Sussex Partnership, we advertise our apprentice-based roles alongside our regular recruitment opportunities. To see what roles are available, you can visit our vacancies page.