Job overview

This is a Degree Apprenticeship role.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Podiatry Service have an exciting opportunity for a podiatry apprentice to join our innovative and supportive podiatry team. The graduate Podiatry Apprenticeship programme is a  fully funded route towards qualification as a HCPC registered Podiatrist.

Podiatrists are registered healthcare professionals specialising in the lower limb (feet, ankles, legs), providing high quality clinical care to people of all ages. A Podiatrist’s job is to work to protect people’s feet, providing preventative advice, care, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a range of problems affecting the lower limb.

What’s involved?

The apprenticeship is a three year programme of work based learning that is directly related to the apprenticeship standard. In addition, the apprenticeship has a mandatory 20% off-the-job learning. The University-based Honours degree study is also linked to the Apprenticeship Standard. It is scheduled to commence in September 2025.

Main duties of the job

Eligibility

You will be able to demonstrate how you will be able to use the experiences you are bringing to become a Podiatrist. Understanding of the scope of the role of the Podiatrist and Podiatry assistant in context of the team and the organisation, and how the role may contribute to service development. You will treat people with dignity, respecting individual's diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences. You will show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern and work to evidence based best practice. You will also be adaptable, reflective, reliable and consistent, show discretion, resilience, self-awareness and demonstrate leadership.

You must be able to meet the following criteria:

• Grade C/level 4 (or above) in GCSE English and Maths or functional skills level 2 (equivalent to GCSE C)
• Applicants are expected to demonstrate evidence of recent academic achievement within the last 5 years, such that they may be deemed capable of study at degree level
• Able to evidence the ability to study at a Higher Education level
• Right of abode in the UK meeting University admission
• 104 UCAS points (equivalent to A levels at BCC), including a biological subject

Upon successful completion of all elements of the apprenticeship including End Point Assessment, there will be the opportunity to for a substantive registered Band 5 post within the Podiatry service. 

Working for our organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us.  In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views.  It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement.  However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.