Royal Cornwall Hospital wins inaugural Department of Education National Apprenticeship and Skills Award

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) has won the Gatsby T Level Employer of the Year Award at the Department of Education’s regional National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards.

Taking place on Thursday 17October, the apprenticeship team collected the award which recognises an employer who has delivered an exemplary industry placement programme. They will now go on to the national awards in London on Wednesday 27 November.

Nikki Pryke, Apprenticeship Lead at RCHT, said: “We are absolutely delighted to pick up this award, which is new for 2024. It’s an honour to have our programme recognised and it’s been great to see our Truro College T level students flourish during the two years they spend with us on placements working as healthcare support workers. We’re really looking forward to the national awards next month!”

Truro and Penwith College’s Health and Social Care deputy team leader Bonnie Houghton added: “This award is a fantastic endorsement of the three years of partnership working with RCHT as we have been able to develop new and innovative ways of giving our students access to the specialist skills and knowledge that we value.”

The T Level apprenticeship programme, one of the first of its kind to be delivered in the UK, is developed in collaboration with Truro and Penwith College, with the shared aim to help develop the future workforce. Students on the T Level placements are getting real-world experience and feeding into the future of the programme.

Nikki explained: “We interview all students who wish to apply for a placement to help build their confidence, they attend our corporate staff induction and receive training to become a healthcare support worker within their first year, helping to give them the skills they need to start a career in the NHS. We also encourage them to share feedback on what they enjoyed while on the placement as well as any ways we can improve the experience. This is giving us a great insight into the benefits of the programme and how we can make enhancements.”

Bonnie added: “Students are well-informed in relation to the realities of working in a busy, acute clinical environment and they can apply their academic knowledge in a real-life setting. Not only does this benefit students when they sit their exams and make their future career choices, it also supports RCHT and their recruitment of new talent.”

The Department of Education’s National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of exceptional apprentices and T Level students, skills champions and apprenticeship and T Level employers.