Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with SNEE Training Hub; Over the past year, the Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE) Training Hub has delivered a significant step change in workforce development across primary care, driven by the leadership of its Apprenticeship Coordinator, Emma Jones, and strengthened through powerful regional education partnerships.
New apprenticeship data and collaborative outcomes clearly demonstrate how this focused approach has increased participation, removed financial barriers and expanded access to fully funded learning opportunities for GP practices and wider primary care services across the SNEE footprint.
Apprenticeship Growth Across Primary Care
The latest Training Hub data shows 50 active apprentices, up from approximately 20 one year ago, representing an increase of around 150%. This growth reflects a deliberate strategy to support both clinical and non-clinical career pathways:
- 26 clinical apprentices
- 24 non-clinical apprentices
This balanced model ensures that patient-facing services are strengthened alongside the operational, leadership and administrative functions essential to the sustainability of GP surgeries.
Engagement with specific workforce groups has also been notable. Social Prescribers have embraced the opportunity to undertake the Level 3 Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Apprenticeship, with a record-breaking first cohort of seven learners. In addition, four managers successfully secured places on the Senior Leadership Level 7 apprenticeship before the programme was defunded, ensuring senior leadership capability continues to be developed within primary care.
Strengthening Clinical and Non-Clinical Capacity
Clinical apprenticeships now include roles such as Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Nursing Associates, Registered Nurses and Pharmacy professionals, directly supporting patient care, service resilience and long-term workforce sustainability.
Alongside this, non-clinical apprenticeships, including Business Administration, Accountancy, Team Leading, Customer Service and Senior Leadership, are underpinning practice efficiency, leadership capacity and staff retention. Together, these pathways create clear progression routes and support succession planning across practices.
Championing Dental and Optometry Apprenticeships
Beyond general practice, Emma has also been a strong advocate for expanding apprenticeship opportunities across the wider primary care workforce. This has included actively promoting dental apprenticeships, supporting dental practices to understand the available pathways and demonstrating how apprenticeships can help address long-standing recruitment and retention challenges within dental services.
Looking ahead, the Training Hub is supporting the exciting new launch of the Level 6 Degree apprenticeship in Orthoptics. This new pathway marks a significant milestone, creating a funded and structured route into optometry roles and helping to future-proof eye care services across Suffolk and North East Essex. The introduction of this apprenticeship opens new opportunities to attract, develop and retain talent within this critical area of primary care.
Unlocking Funding Through Levy Sharing
By positioning herself as the central point of expertise for apprenticeships, Emma has successfully secured levy-sharing agreements with East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust and West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
These agreements have enabled all GP surgeries across the SNEE footprint to access apprenticeship funding, ensuring that cost is no longer a barrier to developing and retaining staff within primary care.
Collaboration Expands Access to Free Learning
A cornerstone of this success has been the strong and sustained collaboration between the SNEE Training Hub and the Eastern Education Group.
This partnership has significantly enhanced access to fully funded training opportunities for primary care, supporting workforce development at every stage. Through this collaboration:
- Practices can access Adult Skills Fund provision, enabling staff to upskill at no cost
- Clear progression routes have been established from these courses into further development
- Non-clinical and emerging workforce needs are addressed alongside clinical priorities
By aligning Adult Skills Fund provision with apprenticeship opportunities, the partnership has created an inclusive and accessible development offer for entry-level staff, career changers and experienced employees alike.
Investing in People and Retention
This collaborative approach has also supported wider cultural and retention goals across primary care. Free access to learning reduces barriers to progression, increases staff confidence and enables practices to invest in their people at a time of increasing workload and recruitment pressure.
Alongside apprenticeships, the Training Hub has delivered a range of funded development programmes, including Career Ahead, Management Masterclasses, Active Bystander training and Conflict Resolution training. Together, these initiatives form a holistic workforce offer that supports professional growth, staff wellbeing and long-term retention.
Through strategic leadership, data-led delivery, strong advocacy and innovative education partnerships, the SNEE Training Hub is transforming workforce development across Suffolk and North East Essex, creating sustainable, funded pathways across general practice, dentistry and optometry that benefit both primary care staff and the patients they serve.
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