9 Feb 2022
CVS Group is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week from 7 February by committing the cash to cover remaining programme costs for its existing apprentices.
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A week dedicated to apprentices and apprenticeship schemes is being celebrated by a national practice group as it commits £3.5 million to ongoing studies.
CVS Group is marking National Apprenticeship Week from 7 February by committing the cash to cover remaining programme costs for its existing apprentices.
Gemma Buck, apprenticeship programme manager at CVS, said that the group had embraced the opportunity to broaden career development through carefully selected apprenticeships with trusted providers. In England, more than 800 CVS employees had chosen to enrol on to apprenticeships.
Ms Buck said: “There is a wide range of pathways available to upskill employees who previously couldn’t fulfil their nursing aspirations due to not holding required entry qualifications. Many of these apprentices have achieved incredible results on their level 2 programme and have now commenced nursing studies, an opportunity made possible at no cost them through completing an apprenticeship.
“To date, CVS has initiated 20 different apprenticeships throughout our diverse business, including animal care, nursing, HR, finance, laboratory scientist degree and many others.
“Our desire to both strengthen our industry and promote internal career development opportunities was endorsed when CVS became the first employer to enrol graduate vets onto the Advanced Clinical Practitioner Apprenticeship with the University of Nottingham in 2020, our flagship future leaders programme.”
Ms Buck also detailed how the group was similarly proud of its CVS nursing school, ChesterGates Veterinary Training Centre, which delivers the VetSkill level 3 qualification.
Ms Buck added: “We train our own apprentices alongside other keen learners from different veterinary employers. The high quality of the training and support delivered through this school has recently awarded it ‘Excellent’ as an apprenticeship rating, a category retained by a minority of apprenticeship nursing schools in England.
“With an ambitious forecast for further apprenticeship enrolments in 2022 and beyond, we continue to welcome the opportunities of these programmes throughout our business and more widely into the veterinary sector.
“We wish every apprentice learner in CVS, and all those attending our nursing school, the very best with their programmes and the exciting career paths which will follow.”
