The Wessex NVQ Centre

The Wessex NVQ Centre is the UHS apprenticeship centre. It is a well established approved apprenticeship training provider with over 25 years of experience training staff to work in healthcare settings.  We offer apprenticeships that meet the needs of our own healthcare workforce at the Trust, plus work with other local healthcare employers to train their staff in particular roles.  

The aims of the Wessex NVQ Centre are to:

  • deliver apprenticeship programmes specific to healthcare in occupational areas we know we have expertise to deliver

  • deliver high quality training that is designed to provide the apprentices with the new knowledge, skills and behaviours to give excellent services and care to patients

  • enable the development of support workers as part of the Trust’s workforce plan 

  • support recruitment to, and retention of, these roles through the offer of apprenticeships and career pathways

  • support progression opportunities for the clinical and pharmacy support workers to higher level qualifications and roles.  

The apprenticeship programmes we offer are:

  • senior healthcare support worker level 3

  • pharmacy services assistant level 2.

The Centre also aims to be a preferred local apprenticeship provider for other local healthcare employers, supporting the development of staff for the wider healthcare delivery system.

HOW CAN YOU TRAIN IN ONE OF THESE ROLES?

To undertake the senior healthcare support worker level 3 apprenticeship, you need to apply for a job at the Trust as a healthcare support worker. Once you are in the role, you can discuss with your manager about applying for the apprenticeship programme.

To undertake the pharmacy services assistant level 2 apprenticeship, you need to apply for a job at the Trust as a pharmacy assistant. All of the staff recruited into this post must undertake this apprenticeship as a condition of the job.

THE START OF YOUR JOURNEY

Both of these apprenticeships can lead to further career opportunities. The Trust works in partnership with many different apprenticeship training providers and these offer additional training routes to higher level qualifications which can lead to more senior job roles.

You can find our 2018 Ofsted monitoring visit report here: Ofsted | University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, our employer engagement practice policy here and our complaints and appeals policy policy here.