It’s been five years since the introduction of midwifery apprenticeships in England, and I’m really proud to say that the RCM was one of the early champions of this route into the profession.  

The first Registered Midwife Degree Apprenticeship (RMDA) programme started at the University of Greenwich in January 202. Since then, another 11 RMDA programmes have been introduced in England. We know that not every maternity support worker (MSW) wants to be a midwife, but for those who do, the RMDA offers a wonderful route in. And for NHS Trusts apprenticeships are also beneficial as a highly successful ‘earn while you learn’ route into midwifery. They recognise and value the local workforce, helping them to progress in their career, while at the same time keeping them within the NHS.    

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we wanted to ensure this wasn’t just a ‘nice to have’ but something that genuinely added value to individuals, to the Trust and to the wider NHS. To back our ‘proof of concept’, we were commissioned by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education to develop the first evaluative report of the initial RMDA programmes.  

The evaluation was done by Prof. Richard Griffiths from King’s College, London. Interestingly the report found that there was almost no attrition from RMDA programmes, compared to high attrition of around 20% from the traditional route. It also found that the apprentices were committed to working in their local Trust once they were qualified. They had an easier transition from ‘student’ to qualified midwife as they were already part of the workforce. They also helped to diversify the workforce, as apprentices are demographically more diverse than ‘traditional’ students, with most being mature applicants.  

The previous government recognised the value of apprenticeships in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with a 5% target for all entrants to midwifery to be via the apprenticeship route by 2028. This Government is yet to commit to that target, in particular a commitment to fund Trusts to support their MSW workforce if apprentices are to be released to study midwifery.  

We really hope that the Government recognises the return on investment that the evaluation clearly demonstrates. The apprenticeship route into midwifery is a secure pipeline of committed and motivated midwives who stay in post. And, at a time when we are so short of midwives, surely tapping into this rich seam of passionate professionals is a quick win. 

In the words of one of the midwifery apprentices in the evaluation report:  

“It gave me the opportunity to do this degree when I thought I would never be able to, ever. If I was going to do a [traditional] degree, I would literally need to leave everything but doing the apprenticeship gave me the opportunity to work as a band 3 and fulfil my dream to be a midwife.”