Arden University helps the NHS tackle skill shortages

Nottingham University Hospital

The problem: Staff shortages amidst a NHS crisis

Like many NHS Trusts, Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) wanted to address staff shortages. To do this, it was looking to retain and upskill its existing workforce.

In recent years, with many roles at the large university hospital being hard to fill, and after a good few years of strain during the pandemic, staff retention has become increasingly important for NUH.

Ensuring staff completed training feeling valued by NUH, while also leaving with an MBA qualification, was key. 

The solution: Supporting NHS staff’s careers with L&D

To help NUH support its staff, accelerating them to the next stage of their career to lead departments, services, systems of care or transformation projects, Arden University developed a contextualised Senior Leader Apprenticeship for the health and care sector, which included an executive MBA.

This course provides current and future leaders with the knowledge, high-level leadership and management skills, and equips them with the desired behaviours they need, to become more effective. In doing so, it also delivers professional pan-industry leadership qualifications and a professional pathway to Chartered Manager status.

The apprenticeship is designed to enhance the careers of current health and care workers, and as such, it can be completed via remote learning to ensure it fits in with the demands of their roles.

The results: Promoting staff retention and happier employees

The apprenticeship offered a number of benefits for NUH, with staff who undertook the course feeling more invested in the organisation. This will have a positive effect on retention rates in the future.

By working with Arden University, NUH is able to target its apprenticeship activity within the services that typically struggle to recruit pre-qualified staff, while also allowing those who haven’t followed the traditional education routes to remain in work and gain a high-calibre qualification.

Through the qualification, NUH staff are able to develop their skills and careers, allowing further investment in the development of new talent. Since launching the apprenticeship for its team, NUH have reported that they not only witnessed staff that were undertaking the apprenticeships developing their skills, but also reported that the managers supporting apprentices developing their own line management and mentoring skills – allowing the apprenticeship process to, directly and indirectly, enable development.