NHS 10-Year Health Plan and what it means for Apprenticeships

Last week saw the release of the Government’s 10-Year NHS Health Plan – setting out how the health service will modernise to meet the needs of a changing population. While many of the details were already in the public domain – following outline plans, the Autumn Statement, spending reviews, and recent announcements on NHS England and ICB reforms – the document brings them together under one ambitious vision.

WHAT DO WE NOW KNOW?

As anticipated, the plan is anchored around three radical transformations:

From hospital to community
From analogue to digital
From sickness to prevention

In parallel, the restructuring of NHS England and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will give local systems more power to shape priorities, with greater flexibility over funding and service delivery. However, this new autonomy comes with clear conditions. Trusts and systems will face:

STRICTER FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

A mandated 2% year-on-year productivity improvement target will be enforced.

INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY

Organisations that fail to deliver may face statutory interventions, while high performers could gain greater freedoms and financial rewards.

WORKFORCE REFORM

Although a comprehensive workforce strategy is due later this year, the plan outlines key priorities:

A focus on inclusive leadership, staff wellbeing, and ongoing development
Expanded roles for non-clinical staff, particularly in prevention, digital enablement, and system navigation
A commitment to “grow the NHS from within”

INVESTMENT AND FUNDING

The NHS has been provided with significant investment to support these reforms. The Autumn Statement pledged an additional £22.6 billion for day-to-day Department of Health and Social Care spending over the next two years – the largest real-terms increase since 2010.

In addition, the 2025 spending review confirmed a long-term uplift: NHS day-to-day funding will rise by £29 billion annually by 2028‑29, representing a real-terms annual growth of 3%.

Beyond core budgets, transformation-specific investment includes:

A £3.4 billion capital investment package
A new £1 billion NHS Productivity and Innovation Fund
A mandate for NHS organisations to reserve at least 3% of annual budgets for transformation

This investment is also front-loaded – enabling near-term progress and improvements, while long-term structural reform takes root.

WHAT PART CAN APPRENTICESHIPS PLAY IN THIS TRANSFORMATION?

Apprenticeships are already a key component of the NHS’s workforce strategy, and their role looks set to expand. The plan makes multiple explicit references to apprenticeships, including:

A renewed commitment to increasing apprenticeship numbers across both clinical and non-clinical roles – notably, the creation of 2,000 additional nursing apprenticeships over the next three years
A role for apprenticeships in reducing international recruitment by “growing our own” – providing accessible career routes within local communities

APPRENTICESHIPS SUPPORTING THE THREE TRANSFORMATIONS

1. FROM HOSPITAL TO COMMUNITY

Shifting services into more personalised, community-based care requires a new set of skills and roles. Apprenticeship standards like Community Health and Wellbeing Worker can support the development of roles such as Social Prescribers, Care Navigators, and Health Coaches. Within this, we also recognise the importance of the Integrated Neighbourhood Teams agenda, and how crucial these roles are in ensuring a seamless patient experience across different services that will start to work as a virtual team at a neighbourhood level.

Meanwhile, Healthcare Support Worker and Adult Care Worker apprenticeships can aid the expansion of social care into homes, high streets, and community hubs.

2. FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL

A digital NHS needs a data-literate workforce. Apprenticeships like Data Technician and Data Analyst build technical capabilities, while generalist routes such as Business Administrator and Administration Assistant can be tailored to include NHS-specific digital pathways – covering systems like EMIS, Accurx, and emerging platforms.

3. FROM SICKNESS TO PREVENTION

Prevention requires a workforce trained to spot early warning signs, educate patients, and connect people to community assets. This shift is the culmination of the other two transformations – moving the NHS from reactive to proactive care. Proactive and preventative care requires a good understanding of the individual as a whole, including the wider determinants of health and wellbeing. As with shift 1, roles such as Care Coordinator, Care Navigator and Social Prescribing Link Worker are uniquely positioned to identify wider issues patients and service users may be experiencing, and help the planning and execution of preventative care.

Delivering changes across all three areas requires strategic planning, change management, and financial oversight. The plan places renewed emphasis on leadership – and apprenticeships such as Team Leader and Operational Manager offer practical, accredited ways to build those capabilities from within the system.

A VISION THAT REQUIRES URGENCY

The 10-Year Plan presents a bold and necessary vision. The new Labour Government has described the NHS they’ve inherited as “broken”, stating that “the status quo is no longer an option.” Progress must be faster and more sustained than in previous reform efforts.

Apprenticeships can help drive that progress – enabling inclusive recruitment, local workforce growth, and the development of critical, system-wide skills.

If you’d like to explore apprenticeship options aligned with this vision – including tailored NHS-specific pathways – please use the following form to get started! NEL apprenticeship enquiry