University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting apprentice healthcare support workers to work across five of its hospitals, in a group intake offering a first step into healthcare, with no upper age limit. The posts are based at Royal Derby Hospital, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital in Derby, Queens Hospital in Burton, Samuel Johnson in Lichfield and Sir Robert Peel in Tamworth.

Successful applicants will complete an Intermediate Apprenticeship in Health while working in a supported learning environment, covering personal care, nutrition and hydration, monitoring observations, infection control and safeguarding. On completing the qualification, apprentices become automatically eligible for healthcare assistant posts within the Trust.

Pay, hours and how to apply

Apprentices work a full rotation of shifts, including long days, nights, weekends and bank holidays, with part-time hours considered from 30 hours a week. Pay follows the national apprenticeship rates set out in the government's funding rules: £8.00 an hour for apprentices under 18 and those aged 18 to 20, £8.78 an hour for ages 21 to 22, and £9.36 an hour for those aged 23 and over.

Applicants must have lived in the UK for three years, and the posts are not eligible for visa sponsorship — applicants need an ongoing right to work in the UK. Guaranteed interview schemes cover veterans, disabled applicants meeting the essential criteria, and care leavers.

Applications close on 10 November 2026, and interviews and assessments take place on the same day, 24 November 2026, at Queens Hospital in Burton, with no alternative dates offered. The Trust warns the advert may close early if it receives a high number of applications, so early application is advised. Apply through the official advert on NHS Jobs (Trac), with pay rates from the GOV.UK apprenticeship funding rules 2026 to 2027.