Birmingham City University helps spearhead new consortium to address skills and staffing crisis in the healthcare sector

The Healthcare Education Consortium comprises six universities that will collaboratively design, develop and deliver high-quality healthcare degree apprenticeship programmes, to better meet the needs of the NHS and private healthcare employers.

Its primary aims are to increase apprenticeship starts, improve efficiencies across the sector, promote social inclusion, enhance professional standards and promote best practice in healthcare education for the public’s benefit.

In addition to bringing new skilled talent to the sector, Birmingham City University will work collaboratively with the other universities in the consortium to help support the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and address chronic staff shortages. In the third quarter of 2024/25 there were over 106,000 vacancies* in the NHS workforce, with 27,000 positions alone needed in nursing.

Within the consortium, Birmingham City University will partner with five other universities - Middlesex University, University of Hertfordshire, Kingston University, University of Greenwich and Oxford Brookes University.

The universities will collectively offer degree apprenticeships across 13 different programmes, ranging from registered nursing and paramedic through to occupational therapist and speech and language therapist.

NHS and private healthcare employers throughout the Midlands can help fund apprentices through the consortium via the government Apprenticeship Levy, with the NHS one of the biggest levy-paying organisations in the UK – contributing an estimated £200m annually.

Professor Darryll Bravenboer, project sponsor for the Healthcare Education Consortium, said: “This new consortium brings together the collective power and technical healthcare expertise across six of the UK’s top universities, to better meet the needs of healthcare employers. It will also play a pivotal role in addressing some key issues in the sector, whether that’s helping attract new talent and reducing the skills gap, through to driving innovation and tackling the current staffing crisis.

“With the support of Birmingham City University, we’re confident this consortium will be widely welcomed by NHS trusts and private healthcare organisations across the region, with degree apprenticeships proven to promote social inclusion, employee retention, skills and productivity.”

Birmingham City University has extensive experience of delivering healthcare education programmes across all professional levels and has a track record of working in partnership with a wide range of healthcare employers. This work is underpinned by sector leading, evidence-based research.

Employers interested in the new healthcare degree apprenticeship programmes starting in September and January, can register their interest here - healthcare-education.org.