Over 200 apprenticeships of all ages are being supported by the ambulance service to start their healthcare careers.

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which was ranked 65th in the UK's top apprenticeship employers, has supported apprentices from a variety of career backgrounds to enter a wide array of clinical and non-clinical apprenticeship programmes.

NEAS has a workforce of over 3,200 people and covers 3,200 square miles, and serves a population of 2.7 million people.

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The past year has been particularly successful for NEAS, as 89 students are currently enrolled in the Clinical Care Assistant (CCA) programme with Scheduled Care and 37 completed in the last 12 months.

Assistant director of people development, Karen Gardner said: "This is a fantastic achievement for our Trust as it highlights the value apprenticeships bring to our service and colleagues."

A clinical care assistant apprentice, said: "Joining the programme as a Clinical Care Assistant is a fantastic starting point to get into the service without having much experience.

"No shift is the same and all my colleagues are willing to help you and there’s a chance to progress my career."

NEAS currently has students enrolled onto 14 different apprenticeship programmes and caters to a broad spectrum of roles, from advanced clinical practice to team leader/supervisor.