Essex County Council has committed to investing over £1.1 million into growing the health and social care sector in Essex.

The Nightingale Social Care Bursary and Nursing Apprenticeship Scheme, launched by Leader of Essex County Council, Cllr David Finch, at a recent Full Council meeting, will see £1,110,000 funding allocated to supporting training opportunities and qualifications in the care profession.

The scheme will focus on two key areas. The first, the Social Care Bursary, will enable people from the most deprived communities to achieve social care qualifications, or support existing care workers to achieve further qualifications. It aims to reach those in areas where they may not otherwise have such an opportunity or, if they do, may not have the confidence to take it up.

The bursary will help 85 people already working in the sector without a qualification in Health & Social Care to gain a national and sector-recognised diploma that supports their job role. On top of this, an additional 110 employees will be able to undertake an accredited certificate that will support their continuous professional development within the sector. This programme will be developed and delivered by Adult Community Learning (ACL).

The second, the Nursing Apprenticeship, will support 30 adult social care workers to become registered nurses working in the social care sector through the Nursing Apprenticeship Scheme. The County Council will fully fund these nursing degree placements, which will be delivered through the University of Essex and Anglia Ruskin University, where a new and innovative pathway into nursing from within the social care sector has been developed.

“I cannot thank our health and social care workers enough, especially over the past few months, but I hope that this more than £1m commitment goes some way towards helping our most dedicated workers to progress even further in this valuable field, while attracting  more of our residents to take up this fantastic profession.” ~ Cllr David Finch

Cllr Finch said: “This year marks the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, and I cannot think of a more fitting person to celebrate at this moment. To honour her legacy, and the fantastic work of our carer workers in Essex through this crisis, I am setting up the Nightingale Social Care Bursary and Nursing Apprenticeship Scheme that will support over 200 people from across Essex. “

“I cannot thank our health and social care workers enough, especially over the past few months, but I hope that this more than £1m commitment goes some way towards helping our most dedicated workers to progress even further in this valuable field, while attracting  more of our residents to take up this fantastic profession.”

Cllr John Spence, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “Not only are we celebrating the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, this year also marks 50 years since Adult Social Care became part of the Local Authority, which makes today’s announcement even more fitting.”

“The nursing apprenticeship will enable us to grow nurses from within social care rather than recruit from the NHS, therefore increasing the number of nurses within our county overall which of course will make a tremendous difference.”

“Both schemes are enabling us to reach out to those who might never have had such an opportunity and help them develop skills and gain qualifications. The schemes also allow us to be inclusive and grow numbers and expertise within the health and social care sectors for the benefit of our residents. We have been pleased to share our proposals with the NHS and receive their support."

Plans are now being developed and further communication will take place once recruitment begins.