HFMA Academy: Apprentices on the launch pad

In January, the HFMA will break new ground in education, with the provision of healthcare-specific apprenticeships that lead to a professional accounting qualification.

This comes hard on the heels of numerous new studying opportunities from the association – including level 4 and level 7 qualifications and the potential to complete an MBA in healthcare finance. All of these qualifications aim to support healthcare finance practitioners and other staff in enhancing their skills, improving their own career options and helping the NHS to transform the delivery of services and value.

However, the apprenticeship meets a very specific need. Not only does it provide access to much-needed technical training wrapped in a specific NHS context, but it also enables organisations to meet the costs of the training from their own digital accounts.

These accounts are built up using their apprenticeship levy contributions, with organisations paying a levy equivalent to 0.5% of their payroll value. These funds are topped up by government, but can only be used to support apprenticeship programmes – with organisations losing access to the funds if they are not spent within two years.

There has been major demand from NHS bodies to have the training they want for staff made available as part of an apprenticeship. The HFMA believes apprenticeships provide opportunities for staff to gain skills at many different levels, including masters level. However, its initial focus is on a level 4 accounting apprenticeship starting in 2020.

Employers could target apprenticeship programmes at existing staff or use them to attract and train new staff.

Apprentices will study for a level 4 qualification. The aim is to allow students to choose from the AAT, ACCA diploma or CIMA certificate – although the first cohort in January will pursue AAT qualifications. Contextual study material will be drawn from the HFMA level 4 intermediate certificate, which focuses on how finance works in the NHS, with apprentices choosing five from 10 topics:

• How the NHS is funded and structured
• Changes in the NHS
• Politics, government policy and the NHS
• The NHS in England
• Commissioning
• Contracts and payments
• Expenditure
• The need for change
• Financial planning
• Integration and healthcare

More topics can be studied as ‘enhancement to learning’ and on completion, in addition to their accounting qualification and apprenticeship certificate, learners receive an HFMA certificate that exempts them from studying completed topics if they study a level 4 HFMA qualification.

The whole apprenticeship will last 18 months with the apprentice needing to take approximately 35 days of study leave over that period to undertake online study and for skills coach visits, group working and exam sittings.

The requirement for apprentices to have 20% off-the-job training is one that frequently concerns employers. In the main, this is likely to be consumed by the accounting qualification study. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean one day a week away from the office, and the HFMA will work with employers to minimise the impact of any extra off-the-job time needed.

Various activities can count towards this overall requirement, including inductions, time off in lieu for study leave outside of work hours, secondments and development opportunities. The programme costs £8,000, which comes direct from the apprenticeship levy, with payments spread over the 18-month study period. There are also non-levy fees of about £400 for the accountancy exam entrance, which cannot be claimed against the levy.

To streamline setting up these programmes, funding can be accessed for up to three apprentices without using a procurement framework. See hfma.to/apprenticeships