Apprenticeships offer a powerful opportunity to grow confident, capable teams who are equipped to deliver personalised, preventative care at the heart of our communities. Whether you’re embedding ARRS roles, strengthening your MDT, or developing future leaders — apprenticeships can help you do it with purpose and impact.
Apprenticeships in Primary Care combine accredited learning with hands-on experience in the practice or PCN settings.
Apprenticeships ensure that development happens in context, building real confidence and competence on the job.
In the fast-evolving landscape of Primary Care, apprenticeships are more than training; they are a strategic tool to build capacity, capability, and resilience.
Understanding the Primary Care Context
We recognise that Primary Care is under increasing pressure — juggling rising demand, complex patient needs, and limited time. At the same time, the sector is playing a central role in shifting towards more personalised, preventative care. A key part of this transformation is the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), which has introduced new roles like Health and Wellbeing Coaches, Care Coordinators, and Social Prescribing Link Workers into Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
The Increasing Importance of Integration
These ARRS roles are designed to relieve pressure on GPs, improve access, and strengthen person-centred approaches — but they need meaningful integration, supervision, and support. Without this, there is a risk of role confusion, isolation, and under-utilisation. We recognise the importance of embedding these roles within multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) with a shared understanding of their value and contribution.
Current Challenges in Practice
Despite progress, many Primary Care teams face persistent challenges. High workloads and increasing demand have led to widespread fatigue and rising burnout among clinical and non-clinical staff alike. For many ARRS professionals, supervision and support are inconsistent, making it difficult to develop confidence or feel fully integrated. At the same time, the lack of protected learning time often means that workforce development is deprioritised — even when it’s most needed. Addressing these barriers is essential to sustaining a resilient, effective workforce.
Workforce Development Priorities
Effective workforce development in Primary Care must focus on:
- Building coaching and communication skills across the MDT
- Developing confidence and clarity for ARRS staff
- Embedding approaches such as shared decision-making and self-management.
- Creating space for reflective practice, supervision, and peer learning
- Fostering resilience and wellbeing within stretched teams
Our Experience
TPC Health has worked extensively across Primary Care — partnering with PCNs, Training Hubs, and GP Federations to deliver tailored programmes for ARRS roles and wider MDTs. We have for example:
- Played a vital role in the development of the ARRs roles in Primary Care settings
- Contributed to the development of best practice and national guidance for coaching and personalised care
- Supported innovation in personalised care and supported self-management interventions in Health Coaching, Shared Decision Making and Personalised Care and Support Planning across Primary Care settings
- Trained thousands of ARRs practitioners, GPs, AHPs and Nurses in the application of coaching to patient care.
- Designed and led the national LookingAfterYouToo coaching services, that supported thousands of Primary Care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our training focuses on practical skills, professional identity, and embedded application in practice. Whether you’re supporting new roles or building collaborative, person-centred teams, we bring the expertise and insight needed to make workforce development in Primary Care both meaningful and sustainable
Suitable Primary Care Roles
The Level 3 Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Apprenticeship:
- Social-prescribing link workers
- Health & Wellbeing Coaches
- Care coordinators/patient-navigation staff
- GP reception & admin teams with signposting duties
- HCAs or practice nurses delivering lifestyle-change clinics
- Long-Term Condition Self-Management Coach
- Health-App Navigator Coach
The Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship :
- GP partners, ANPs or practice managers embedding a coaching culture
- First-contact physios/OTs coaching self-management
- PCN workforce or education leads
- Population health project leads facilitating behaviour change in neighbourhood teams
- Menopause & Mid-life Health Coach