More nursing apprenticeships and changes to student travel expenses

Some 2,000 additional nursing apprenticeships will be created over the next three years, the government has pledged.

It has also promised to ‘reform and modernise’ the process of paying travel expenses for nursing students on clinical placements.

The news comes within today’s 10-year plan for the NHS – which has also outlined greater leadership opportunities for nurses and new ‘advanced nurse practice models’.

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The move comes as applications to nursing careers have dropped significantly in the last decade, from around three applications per post in 2014 to just two in 2024, the government has said.

John Unsworth, Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) chair and deputy faculty pro vice-chancellor (education) at Northumbria University, welcomed the plans to expand nursing apprenticeships but was cautious about the difference apprentices would make given their small number.

‘Universities stand ready with more than 50 approved educational programmes. However, with only 2,000 roles across seven NHS regions numbers will remain relatively modest,’ he said.

Improving student attrition rates

Attrition also remains a significant concern, said the plan, with 11% of nursing and midwifery students never completing their training.

The government believes that reducing the dropout rate by only one percentage point could translate into over 300 nurses and midwives entering the workforce each year.

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The plan also pointed to a new strategy due to be published by England’s chief nursing officer later this year which is said to have a focus on ensuring nursing students have ‘a high-quality experience in neighbourhood and community settings and social care’.

Reforms to student expenses 

A new process of paying travel expenses linked with clinical placements is also due to be introduced before the start of the 2026 academic year.

The government said it would ‘help nursing students overcome financial obstacles to learning, including reducing delays to reimbursement for their placement travel’ and committed to working with the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) to ‘reform and modernise the process’.

A spokesperson for the Council of Deans of Health told Nursing in Practice that the body had long advocated for ‘proper support’ for students on placement, including the ‘simplification’ of expense procedures.

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‘Whilst the announcement to reform the process of paying travel expenses is a welcome step, more can still be done to address the financial and practical barriers encountered by too many nursing, midwifery and allied health students during their studies, especially whilst on placement,’ the spokesperson said.

Earlier this year it was revealed that applications to study nursing in the UK had fallen for a fourth consecutive year and are down by more than 15,000 compared to 2021.