On 8 August 2025, the NHS England (NHSE) together with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced a secured commitment to continue funding Level 7 (Master’s‑level) apprenticeships until 2029 in five professions critical to delivering the Government’s 10‑Year Health Plan.
What is being announced
- The Level 7 Mitigation Fund will support training for five specific roles: advanced clinical practitioner; specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN); district nurse (Community Specialist Practice Qualification); clinical associate in psychology (CAP); population health intelligence specialist (PHIS).
- This is to address concerns that funding for Level 7 apprenticeships would be withdrawn (as announced by the Department for Education) from January 2026, particularly for those aged over 21.
- Employer funding will be through the Education and Training Activity Programme (ETAP) as a training grant, with expressions of interest and national allocation by workforce need, provider capacity and strategic priority.
How this adds to what is already known
- Previously the focus for consultant interviews often was on junior or core training and recruitment. This announcement brings into focus advanced clinical roles and non‑medical professional pathways (e.g., CAP, PHIS) which form part of future workforce architecture.
- It indicates a stronger emphasis on training and workforce pipeline beyond the traditional doctor‐trainee‐consultant route, reflecting an evolving workforce model.
- It underscores the move toward community and population‑health roles, which is a shift from the previous hospital‑centric emphasis.
Implications for the NHS system, Trusts and professionals
- Trusts will need to support employers in uptake of these apprenticeships, plan for their workforce impact (for example advanced clinical practitioners substituting or complementing consultant roles) and perhaps review job descriptions, roles and progression pathways.
- Consultants may find their roles more integrated with allied health professionals, advanced practitioners and intelligence specialists, and may need to provide supervision or mentoring for these trainees.
- When planning service redesign, consultants may need to consider the presence of these roles and how they interface with consultant practice (for example advanced practitioners handling lower complexity cases, freeing consultant time for higher complexity).
- For professionals, this opens a career path for aspiring staff and may affect how consultant teams are structured, how delegated work is managed, and how training capacity is expanded.
How it might appear in consultant interviews
Interviewers may ask about how you would lead or integrate advanced practitioners or other Level 7‐trained staff into your service. You might be asked how you would work collaboratively with these newer roles, how you would mentor or supervise them, and how you’d redesign pathways to use them effectively. You could reference this announcement to show you are aware of workforce pipelines and role diversification.
Possible interview questions
- How would you incorporate advanced clinical practitioners trained through Level 7 apprenticeships into your specialty service?
- How do you foresee your future consultant team composition changing as more Level 7 trained roles become available?
- What governance and supervision would you put in place when delegating tasks to CAPs or PHISs in your service?
- How would you adapt your job plan and workload to take advantage of advanced practitioners and intelligence specialists?
- What training and mentoring structure would you propose to maximise the value of these new workforce streams?
How to use this information
- In your interview, when discussing workforce, service redesign or training, mention this announcement to show you are up‑to‑date.
- Link it to your own specialty: for example “In my cardiac service I would work with an advanced cardiac clinical practitioner trained via Level 7 apprenticeship to run clinics, freeing consultant time for complex interventions.”
- Use it as evidence of your awareness that the future workforce is broader than consultants and trainees – it includes allied roles with higher training.
- Reflect on how you would engage with the employer/trust’s training and apprenticeship plans, and how you could support uptake or supervision of those staff.
Summary
The NHS England / DHSC announcement on 8 August 2025 confirms continuation of funding for Level 7 apprenticeships in five key roles until 2029. This matters for consultants because it signals workforce diversification, new advanced practitioner roles, and evolving service models. In interviews, being able to discuss how you would integrate and lead these roles will show you are future‑thinking and workforce‑aware.
Cheat Sheet
- “Funding secured for Level 7 apprenticeships in five roles until 2029”
- “I will integrate advanced clinical practitioners into my team, freeing consultant capacity”
- “I propose a mentoring and supervision structure for CAPs and PHISs in my service”
- “My service redesign will reflect the pipeline of Level 7 trained staff and leverage them to benefit patients and consultant time”
