Ambulance Trust celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

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.

It 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 first introduced apprenticeship programmes in 2010, when it introduced the very first apprenticeship which still runs at the trust today, the motor vehicle apprenticeship.

To date, the trust currently have several apprenticeships to offer, ranging from level two to level seven apprenticeships.

In October 2012, the trust introduced its Non-Emergency Patient Transport Scheme.

Over the nine years it have recruited 278 apprentices onto the scheme.

Fifty are currently on programme, many have progressed onto permanent positions with the trust.

Twenty-four of them are now paramedics, 17 are technicians, 15 are progressing within the student paramedic pathway, four are involved in the training of staff, and 40 are employed within the Patient Transport Scheme and other departments.

Carla Beechey, people director, 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.”