Apprentices will carry out a project over 4 months including creation of an electronic written report with a maximum word limit of 12,000. The employer should supervise this and ensure the apprentice has sufficient time (minimum 50 working days) and the necessary resources, within this period, to plan and undertake the project. The project involves the apprentice completing a significant and defined piece of work that has a real business benefit.
The project needs approval by the EPA organization prior to starting, and may be based on any of the following:
- a specific problem, such as the application of statistical methods to specific disease areas
- a recurring issue, using statistics to analyse data in a better way
- an idea or opportunity, such as a new data type or new experiment or design
Following completion of the project report, apprentices will submit and present a presentation to the independent assessor. The presentation will provide an overview of the apprentice’s project and any project outputs. This will be followed by questioning by the independent assessor. The presentation and questioning must last for a total of 45 minutes, typically being a presentation of 20 minutes and questioning lasting 25 minutes. The independent assessor will ask a minimum of 8 questions.
Medical Statistician Level 7 Apprenticeship Scheme
The Medical Statistician Level 7 (MSc integrated) Apprenticeship Scheme, is an English government approved apprenticeship, which enables BSc qualified employees, to study towards an MSc in Medical Statistics whilst they gain hands on experience and a full time salary
Unfortunately the scheme is not available in Wales because the Welsh government only accepts Level 6 (BSc) apprenticeship schemes at this time. We are currently investigating possibilities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately the scheme is not available in Wales because the Welsh government only accepts Level 6 (BSc) apprenticeship schemes at this time. We are currently investigating possibilities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
To start an apprenticeship, the apprentice needs to be:
- 16 or over
- living in England
- not in full-time education
If you are a graduate wanting to enrol onto the Medical statistician apprenticeship scheme, you can find current apprenticeship jobs advertised HERE.
Alternatively, you can also find apprenticeships advertised on the PSI jobs board.
For employers, see the institute for apprenticeship website for more detail of how to register for an apprentice to join your company.
The apprenticeship is made up of an “Occupational Standard” which describes the occupation, duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours expected, and an Medical Statistician assessment plan which describes how the scheme would work in practice and how the scheme is examined. Both documents are available at the government website above.
How does it work?
Employers will recruit BSc Level employees who would like to study towards a MSc in medical statistics through the Medical Statistician Apprenticeship scheme. The employee is paid by the employer and enrolled on the scheme through the government website by the employer. The employer selects a training provider they would like to partner with. The employer then trains the employee on the job and releases the employee to complete off the job training (at least 20% of the time), with the training provided as agreed in the conditions of the apprenticeship. Funds for training provision are paid for through the apprenticeship levy scheme.
Steps to an apprenticeship
Contact: Choose your preferred provider by contacting the Strathclyde: louise.kelly@strath.ac.uk (NOTE: list current as August 2023 but check government website for other providers)
1. Submit expression of interest form to your chosen provider.
2. Selection of apprentice candidate.
3. Submit nomination form to provider.
4. University administration (by Sept each year)
5. Apprenticeship agreement: Employer & Employee.
6. Commitment statement and confidentiality agreement (employee, employer, university & examiners).
7. Agree fees & payment schedule. Align payments to available funds in your Government levy pot if possible – note the funds if not used are returned to the government after 24 months. If you spend more than the funds you have, you can use co-investment and only have to pay 5% of the fees.
8. Allocate the employee appropriate time aligned to course schedule (At least 20% off the job over the 3 years).
Further information about this scheme, funding and apprenticeships in general can be found at the following links:
Please email careers@psiweb.org if you have any questions. We are able to support a range of topics, including but not limited to, signing up as an apprentice, taking on an apprentice and signing up as an approved provider.
Duration of the apprenticeship
Full-time apprentices will typically spend 30 months on-programme prior to the “gateway”. The gateway is achieved once apprentices have completed enough training to start their final project. All apprentices must spend a minimum of 20% of on-programme time undertaking off-the-job training with the remaining 80% working on-the-job for the employer.
Before starting EPA:
- the employer must be content that the apprentice is working at or above the occupational standard
- Achievement of 120 credits of the MSc integrated degree in Medical Statistics from the on-programme apprenticeship, formally confirmed prior to the gateway progression. (The final 60 credits of the MSc degree will be attributed to the EAP).
- apprentices must have achieved English and Mathematics at Level 2
After the gateway there will be two EPA methods to be completed typically within 6 months overseen by the employer. 1: Work based project report with presentation and questioning and 2: Professional interview underpinned by a portfolio of evidence.
You can find more information about these in the expandables below.
The apprentice will be required to submit a portfolio of evidence which they have developed during their on-programme training period detailing their on the job experience.
It will typically contain 12 discrete pieces of evidence aligned to the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) defined in the standard.
Evidence sources may include items like:
workplace documentation (for example SAS/R code and output for analyses completed),
technical writing (for example, Protocols, Statistical analysis plans, reports, posters or papers),
evidence of sample size calculations,
or study design rationale.
The apprentice will be interviewed on the content by an independent assessor asking a series of questions to assess their competence against the KSBs. The interview must last for 60 minutes and have a minimum of 6 questions.
Funding options and who is this for?
Apprentices can be new or current employees. As an employer, you will be able to log into the “apprenticeship service account”, choose the Medical Statistician apprenticeship, choose a training provider, agree a price and payment schedule and pay for the training and assessment with funds through your apprenticeship service account.
Note: Funds will enter this account if your company declare the apprenticeship levy to the HMRC. If you aren’t eligible to pay the levy, then with co-investment, you will pay 5% of the apprenticeship costs outstanding balance for that month and the government will pay the remaining 95% up to the funding band maximum.
Please see the following for more detail around funding: Government guidance on managing apprenticeship funds and How apprenticeship levies work
Recording from a recent apprenticeship webinar
