Healthcare Science Associate - Apprentice

Birmingham Women's & Children's NHS FT

Birmingham (B15 2TG)

Closes in 14 days (Tuesday 16 September 2025)

Posted on 2 September 2025

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Contents

Summary

The West Midlands Genomics Laboratory (WMGL) based in Birmingham Women’s Hospital is recruiting enthusiastic individuals with an interest in science to undertake a Level 4 Apprenticeship in Healthcare Science in early October 2025. The WMGL has an excellent record as a training laboratory, offering training across all levels of healthcare science.

Wage

£24,465 a year

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Training course
Healthcare science associate (level 4)
Hours
28 months contract. Core hours: Monday - Friday, 9.00am - 5.30pm. Occasional Saturday rota: 9.00am - 2.00pm. 1 day a week will be spent attending online college lessons and working on academic tasks.

37 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Wednesday 1 October 2025

Duration

2 years

Positions available

2

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

  • Assist Genetic Technologists in day-to-day laboratory work, providing genetic testing services to NHS patients within the Central and South region.
  • Work as a team and be required to keep a high standard of laboratory health, safety and risk procedures.
  • 1 day a week will be spent attending online college lessons and working on academic tasks in order to gain a Level 4 BTEC qualification. You will receive support from both college and the laboratory for your studies.

Where you'll work

Womens Health Care
Mindelsohn Way
Birmingham
B15 2TG

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED

Training course

Healthcare science associate (level 4)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents
  • Act in line with legislation, standard operating procedures, codes of conduct and ways of working that apply to own role.
  • Work within the scope of the role, the limits of own knowledge and skills and support others to do the same.
  • Act in line with probity requirements and support others to do the same.
  • Promote mental health, wellbeing and resilience in the workplace.
  • Provide technical healthcare-science-based services relevant to own role.
  • Recognise problems and seek technical solutions to them and support others to do the same.
  • Perform a range of equipment management activities appropriate to own role including fault-finding, preventative maintenance, calibration or repair.
  • Contribute to the drafting or revising of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
  • Support decisions made to initiate, continue, modify or cease using techniques or procedures.
  • Analyse, interpret, record and present healthcare science technical data.
  • Provide or support the provision of person-centred care.
  • Take responsibility for any care provided by yourself and your team members including adhering to duty of care and safeguarding requirements.
  • Apply policy and protocols that relate to informed consent.
  • Protect the dignity, rights, privacy and confidentiality of individuals and support others to do the same.
  • Deliver or support the delivery of high quality technical clinical procedures in the investigation or management of individuals.
  • Convey information using appropriate techniques.
  • Give and receive feedback that informs your own practice and that of others in the team.
  • Use techniques to reduce communication barriers and support others to do the same.
  • Keep accurate, confidential records and produce reliable data, inputting and retrieving information within required governance processes and checking that others do the same.
  • Share information correctly as part of the healthcare science team and the multi-professional team.
  • Use technology to present information.
  • Follow protocols for dealing with or reporting difficult situations and complaints.
  • Work as part of the healthcare science team and the wider healthcare team to provide healthcare science services.
  • Plan, review and report on the work of a team and individuals within it.
  • Follow delegation, reporting and escalation protocols appropriate to own role.
  • Demonstrate leadership skills appropriate to own role and work in partnership with the healthcare science and wider healthcare team.
  • Help create the conditions that assist the team in providing a supportive environment for colleagues.
  • Maintain and check that others maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
  • Participate in the management of risk, supporting others to do the same.
  • Take appropriate action in response to incidents or emergencies, reporting or escalating as required by the situation.
  • Move and transport items safely for example individuals or equipment and items.
  • Adhere to protocols for infection prevention and control and support others to do the same.
  • Follow guidelines and procedures for handling hazardous materials and substances.
  • Demonstrate relevant health, safety or security practices to others in the team.
  • Take part in quality management technical audit processes relevant to own role.
  • Participate in audit or service improvement programmes.
  • Share the outcome of audit or service improvement with others.
  • Support the improvement of healthcare science practice by taking part in innovation or research or service improvement activities.
  • Undertake audit, research or other activities which support quality improvement, innovation and sustainability in healthcare science.
  • Critically reflect on your technical and non-technical practice and how it impacts on the quality and safety of patient care.
  • Work within the limits of your personal competence, keeping up-to-date by engaging in continuing personal and professional development.
  • Take part in mentoring processes with colleagues and students.
  • Respond to appraisal or performance review and feedback in relation to your own development and action plans.
  • Supervise and demonstrate practical skills to others.
  • Act in line with legislation, standard operating procedures, codes of conduct and ways of working that apply to own role.
  • Work within the scope of the role, the limits of own knowledge and skills and support others to do the same.
  • Act in line with probity requirements and support others to do the same.
  • Promote mental health, wellbeing and resilience in the workplace.
  • Provide technical healthcare-science-based services relevant to own role.
  • Recognise problems and seek technical solutions to them and support others to do the same.
  • Perform a range of equipment management activities appropriate to own role including fault-finding, preventative maintenance, calibration or repair.
  • Contribute to the drafting or revising of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
  • Support decisions made to initiate, continue, modify or cease using techniques or procedures.
  • Analyse, interpret, record and present healthcare science technical data.
  • Provide or support the provision of person-centred care.
  • Take responsibility for any care provided by yourself and your team members including adhering to duty of care and safeguarding requirements.
  • Apply policy and protocols that relate to informed consent.
  • Protect the dignity, rights, privacy and confidentiality of individuals and support others to do the same.
  • Deliver or support the delivery of high quality technical clinical procedures in the investigation or management of individuals.
  • Convey information using appropriate techniques.
  • Give and receive feedback that informs your own practice and that of others in the team.
  • Use techniques to reduce communication barriers and support others to do the same.
  • Keep accurate, confidential records and produce reliable data, inputting and retrieving information within required governance processes and checking that others do the same.
  • Share information correctly as part of the healthcare science team and the multi-professional team.
  • Use technology to present information.
  • Follow protocols for dealing with or reporting difficult situations and complaints.
  • Work as part of the healthcare science team and the wider healthcare team to provide healthcare science services.
  • Plan, review and report on the work of a team and individuals within it.
  • Follow delegation, reporting and escalation protocols appropriate to own role.
  • Demonstrate leadership skills appropriate to own role and work in partnership with the healthcare science and wider healthcare team.
  • Help create the conditions that assist the team in providing a supportive environment for colleagues.
  • Maintain and check that others maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
  • Participate in the management of risk, supporting others to do the same.
  • Take appropriate action in response to incidents or emergencies, reporting or escalating as required by the situation.
  • Move and transport items safely for example individuals or equipment and items.
  • Adhere to protocols for infection prevention and control and support others to do the same.
  • Follow guidelines and procedures for handling hazardous materials and substances.
  • Demonstrate relevant health, safety or security practices to others in the team.
  • Take part in quality management technical audit processes relevant to own role.
  • Participate in audit or service improvement programmes.
  • Share the outcome of audit or service improvement with others.
  • Support the improvement of healthcare science practice by taking part in innovation or research or service improvement activities.
  • Undertake audit, research or other activities which support quality improvement, innovation and sustainability in healthcare science.
  • Critically reflect on your technical and non-technical practice and how it impacts on the quality and safety of patient care.
  • Work within the limits of your personal competence, keeping up-to-date by engaging in continuing personal and professional development.
  • Take part in mentoring processes with colleagues and students.
  • Respond to appraisal or performance review and feedback in relation to your own development and action plans.
  • Supervise and demonstrate practical skills to others.

Training schedule

This training schedule has not been finalised. Check with this employer if you’ll need to travel to a college or training location for this apprenticeship.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

x 5 including Maths and English (grade 4 / C or above)

Other in:

x 2 A levels or equivalent (grade C or above)

Desirable qualifications

A Level in:

Biology (grade C or above)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • IT skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Customer care skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Presentation skills
  • Number skills
  • Logical
  • Team working
  • Initiative
  • Non judgemental
  • Patience

About this employer

The West Midlands Genomics Laboratory (WMGL) is the largest genomics facility in the UK and lead provider for one of the seven Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLH) in England, the Central and South Genomic Laboratory Hub (C&S GLH). The C&S GLH is hosted by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) and serves 11 million people across a large geography. Working in partnership with four major acute Trusts and their Local Genomic Laboratories (LGLs) the GLH covers the West Midlands, Oxford and Wessex areas. The WMGL has an excellent record as a training laboratory, offering training across all levels of the healthcare science career pathway. We were recently awarded ‘Employer of the Year’ for 2024 by a national Apprenticeship provider. The Department is committed to continuous development and has an active seminar programme available to all staff. Full competence-based training will be given.

https://bwc.nhs.uk/west-midlands-regional-genetics-laboratory/ (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

27 days annual leave + Bank Holidays.

After this apprenticeship

Most apprentices gain a permanent job as a Healthcare Science Assistant at NHS AfC band 3 or 4 within our department or continue studying on a Level 6 apprenticeship.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED

Michelle Owen

michelle.owen9@nhs.net

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000339841.

Apply now

Closes in 14 days (Tuesday 16 September 2025)

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