You are here

Employer resources

Training Nursing Associates

To become a registered nursing associate, individuals must pass a foundation degree awarded by an NMC-approved provider, typically taken over two years. The programme includes both academic and work-based learning and prepares trainees to work with people of all ages and in a variety of settings in health and social care.

Routes to training a nursing associate

Trainee nurse associates can either:

earn while they learn as part of an apprenticeship programme or
apply direct to university.

Currently, most nursing associate training programmes are being delivered through the apprenticeship route. However, a growing number of universities are now offering direct entry programmes, for which trainees will need to fund their own study. You can find a list of all approved programmes on the NMC website or visit UCAS to search for self-funded courses open to application.

Primary Care Trainee Nursing Associate Pathway

Health Education England has produced a useful resource for Primary Care colleagues which illustrates the steps to employ a Trainee Nursing Associate in Primary Care. Trainee Nursing Associates in Primary Care Pathway. To view an accessible version of the Trainee Nursing Associates in Primary Care Pathway see the Related Documents section below.

To accompany the pathway an infographic which can be used as a quick guide to introducing a Trainee Nursing Associate into Primary Care has been produced. Trainee Nursing Associates in Primary Care Infographic. To view an accessible version of the Trainee Nursing Associates in Primary Care Infographic see the Related Documents section below.

Newly qualified nursing associates may need time to adjust to the increased responsibility and accountability associated with being registered. You can support them to do this by:

- promoting the role throughout your organisation

- creating a formal job description and scope of practice

- supported medicines administration procedures

- offering preceptorship programmes.

NHS Employers has some useful information on: Deploying Nursing Associates in Different Settings

A preceptorship is a period of support and guidance for new registrants. HEE developed best practice guidance on preceptorship for nursing associates in 2018.

The wave 2 evaluation of the HEE nursing associate programme found that preceptorship programmes can have several benefits for recently qualified nursing associates. See Introduction of nursing associates – year 2 evaluation report, Traverse, October 2019.

You will need to:

- adhere to the nursing associate apprenticeship standard, which reflects the agreed NMC standards for nursing associates. You can download the nursing associate standard and end-point assessment on the HASO website

- identify apprenticeship levy funding for the programme

- procure a training provider – see the HEE Apprenticeship Procurement Toolkit

- recruit to the programme.

Funding via the apprenticeship levy

Employers can use the apprenticeship levy to fund a nursing associate apprenticeship programme. The levy is paid by all employers who have an annual pay bill of £3 million or more. The rate is set at 0.5 per cent of the total pay bill and is paid to HMRC through the PAYE process. Those with a pay bill of less than £3 million don’t pay the levy and use different arrangements to pay for apprenticeship training.

Read Nursing Associates and the Apprenticeship Levy: A quick guide.

Find out more about the apprenticeship levy is, and how to use it within the NHS on the NHS Employers website.

For more on introducing a trainee nursing associate programme, please see the NHS Employers nursing associate handbook under ‘Establishing your nursing associate training programme’

Recruitment - entry requirements
As a minimum, trainee nursing associates will need GCSEs grade 9 to 4 (A to C) in Maths and English or Functional Skills Level 2 in Maths and English. They will also need to demonstrate:

- their ability to study to level 5 foundation degree level
- the values and behaviours of the NHS Constitution
- a commitment to completing the Nursing Associate Apprenticeship programme.

Note that some universities may have additional requirements. Aspiring trainees without the relevant Maths and English requirements will be asked to sit a numeracy and literacy assessment as part of the recruitment process. Most education providers will request that trainees then achieve a level 2 literacy and numeracy qualification prior to starting the programme.

Functional skills training and examination is free to any learner who does not hold Maths and/or English GCSE at C or above (or equivalent). If you have employees who need further support with functional skills, you can direct them to your local further education college.

Applicants from non-English speaking countries will also need to have successfully completed a recognised English language test.

For more, please view the Functional skills toolkit produced by HEE London here.

Please direct any potential trainee nursing associates to the nursing associate site for more information on the role.

For Trainee Nursing Associates (TNAs) commencing on programme from the following is available. This is reviewed on an annual basis.

TNA Apprenticeship Programme

The below applies to TNAs commencing on the apprenticeship programme:

For each TNA, an employer will be eligible for a total funding sum of £8,000 over two years (£4,000 per year)

For trainees that are working at least 50% of their practice time with people who have a learning disability or/ and are autistic, an employer will be eligible for a total funding sum of £15,800 over two years (£7,900 per year)*.

*To be eligible to access the enhanced funding for TNA (learning disability/autism), the TNA will need to be spending 50% or more of their time working with people who have a learning disability or/ and are autistic. There are no restrictions in relation to clinical or social setting in which the TNA (learning disability/autism) is or plans to work within during their apprenticeship.

TNA Direct Entry Programme

Placement Tariff Value

For each starter to a TNA Direct Entry/ UCAS Programme, HEE will provide one payment of £1,000 to each TNA to cover the entire two year programme*

*The trainees can use the funds in any way they feel will assist them in carrying out their training, e.g. on child care, travel, buying equipment to assist with for online learning.

- View Apprenticeship Procurement Toolkit Guidance for Employers here

- View Aspiring Trainee Nursing Associate Functional Skills here

- View Nursing associate apprenticeships and the levy: A quick guide for employers here

- View Nursing Associate Job Description guidance here

- View Preceptorship for Nursing Associates leaflet here

- View Nursing Associate Curriculum Framework here

You may find it useful to join - The ‘Nursing Associates’ Deployment workspace

This workspace is for those responsible for the deployment of Nursing Associates. It carries news of upcoming webinars and events, and provides a space to share resources, good practice, Q&As and more, amongst members. To join the workspace you must first register for an account on FutureNHS Collaboration Platform, if you don’t already have one. Then follow the guidance to request to join a workspace, and submit a request to join the ‘Nursing Associates’ Deployment workspace.

Please see the employer case studies at the bottom of this page.

Further case studies

Skills for Care has produced a suite of films about the nursing associate role in social care, featuring Emily Gillott, a registered nursing associate at Drovers Call Care Home and employers from within the Lincolnshire partnership. Watch the Skills for Care case studies here.

NHS Employers has several case studies from the employer and nursing associate angle.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has produced a suite of nursing associate case studies.