STEVE Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has praised a hospital apprenticeship scheme that has helped 137 people gain qualifications in the last year.
During a visit to Aintree University Hospital, Steve, who was an apprentice bricklayer in his youth, met a range of apprentices studying everything from clinical healthcare and pharmacy to business administration and hospitality.
It follows the recent launch www.be-more.info which is a portal bringing together apprenticeship opportunities from employers across the city region.
Aintree University Hospital, which is one of the largest employers in Merseyside, has an apprenticeship scheme that has received regional and national recognition and offers nationally recognised qualifications including NVQs, Technical Certificates and Functional Skills (Maths, English and IT). Apprentices recruited into vacancies earn while they learn, with an apprenticeship salary of at least £13,095 per year and a career path in the Trust.
Steve said: “It was a pleasure to meet so many motivated young people who are working to pursue careers within the NHS and hear about their experiences at Aintree. We launched the www.be-more.info website to make apprenticeship opportunities like these much easier to find and it was a promise I made in my election manifesto. This is the first website anywhere in the country bringing together such a wide range of information and there are a variety of apprenticeships available for all ages and levels.”
Ruth Hoyte, Director of Workforce & Organisational Development at Aintree University Hospital, said: “We are really proud of the work we have done with our apprentices and we were delighted to welcome Steve to Aintree and introduce him to our apprentices.
“Apprenticeships are helping us to build a strong future workforce by developing the skills of our existing staff and offering job opportunities to our local communities.”
