Liverpool Clinical Laboratories Traineeship Programme - Widening Participation in Action

A 'Learning Matters' awards 2017 Case Study.

The City of Liverpool and Merseyside Region has felt the impact over the last two decades of a loss of traditional apprenticeship and workforce supply routes with a consequential decline in vocational qualifications, which would have been made available to those in the 16-24 year age range. The Liverpool City Region has seen increased unemployment with a subsequent increase in youngsters claiming job seekers allowance within this age range. As well as the regional economic impact this has there is also a marked increase in anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Liverpool Clinical Laboratories (LCL) developed a traineeship programme as an innovative way of enabling the team to create a sustainable workforce for the future. The total programme consists of a thirteen week course delivered in-house (5 weeks taught and 8 weeks work experience).