Apprentice paramedic Vicky practicing CPR on a dummy

We provide a range of development opportunities across our various roles and departments.

Induction

Taking place over your first 12 months with us, our comprehensive induction will help you settle into working at NWAS,  giving you an overview of the trust, your team and work area, and specific elements if you’re working in a patient-facing or leadership role.

Personal and professional development

Our staff are supported through a range of internal and external development programmes:

  • HR masterclasses
  • Staff development programmes
  • External qualifications and short courses, including a range of Level 2 distance learning courses.
  • Attendances at conferences and exhibitions
  • Continuous professional development programme
  • Support to clinical conferences, seminars and workshops developing paramedic practice
  • Support in the development of research projects leading to PhD study
  • Mandatory training
  • Application and interview support, and NWAS assessment centres.

Leadership and management

We offer a range of management and leadership development opportunities to both existing and aspiring managers. We’re the first ambulance service in the country to gain Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accreditation and we’re pleased to offer an array of accredited Level 2, 3 and 5 awards, certificates and diplomas to support our current and aspiring managers as they grow and develop in their roles.

Our flagship ‘Making a Difference’ programme supports managers to develop a rounded set of leadership skills, while our new ‘Developing Leaders’ mentoring programme is for those looking to our leaders of the future. Managers can also access in-house Organisational Development support to support the development of their teams and services.
 
We also have access to wider support through our subscription to the NHS Leadership Academy, where staff are able to access a range of development resources and programmes.

Clinical academic qualifications

We work with universities across the region to develop bespoke programmes for our workforce. These are quality assessed and assured to ensure staff have high quality academic tuition. Alongside this, we continue to support the release of advanced paramedics to study towards the Masters Advanced Practitioner level education.

Staff appraisals

Annual conversations with your manager to help you reach your full potential, and reflect on achievements, set upcoming goals and priorities, and discuss any personal development or wellbeing needs.

Quality improvement

Our in-house improvement team can help you develop quality improvement (QI) skills to help you identify improvements in your work area and make positive changes. You’ll also have peer-to-peer support from other staff and teams through our QI Network.

Recognising our learners

Annually we hold a learner celebration event which brings together and celebrates everyone from across the organisation who have achieved qualifications throughout the year.

NWAS Library

Whether you’re undergoing formal study or a work-based project, our dedicated Ambulance Library & Knowledge Service can help you search through published research and resources to help support your work.