Vital skills that keep the NHS functioning are being developed by a partnership of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Skills Group.
The next generation of financial leaders – vital to the smooth functioning of the NHS – are being trained at Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital.
Three apprentices at the hospital are being trained in accounting by expert tutors at Northern Skills Group and NHS staff, themselves former apprentices.
Mark Sexton and Arran Scott, both 21, and Lydia Newton, 24, are already part of the Trust’s central finance team.
Faye Revely, financial services manager at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our apprentices are really important to the future of the Trust. Through their training we’re making sure we have the correct skills to safeguard the future of our hospitals.
"Our trainees deal with financial information that is fundamental to decisions about how wards and key services are configured.
“Many of our senior management team are former apprentices, and it remains a fantastic way into careers with the NHS.”
The three apprentices at James Cook University Hospital are studying a Level 2 Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) programme.
Trainees spend half a day each week at Northern Skills Group’s base at Middlesbrough College – where they receive classroom tuition.
Once their apprenticeships are completed, the trainees are expected to move into full time jobs as finance assistants with the Trust.
Faye, who is herself a former apprentice with Northern Skills Group, added: “We’ve found apprenticeships to be a really cost effective way of training staff, which means their salaries can be competitive.
“Our trainees can expect to receive £10,000 per year, with excellent scope for progression on to more senior roles.”
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s deputy director of Finance is a former AAT apprentice.
Rachel Fieldhouse, skills development manager at Northern Skills Group, said: “Our expert tutors guide apprentices through the key skills required in finance departments.
“From bookkeeping controls to the use of accounting software, the AAT programme is tailored towards organisations – to suit their specific needs.”