Public Health Practitioner (Public Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship)
Part-time
Three year
January 2025
In a nutshell
The BSc (Hons) Public Health Practitioner degree apprenticeship has been developed through consultation with Public Health England and employers in a range of public health-related fields, to meet the requirements of the UK Public Health Register. Successful completion will enable you to register as a Public Health Practitioner.
The degree apprenticeship provides a new route for developing and retaining the future public health workforce that is complementary to the academic route, ensuring that graduating apprentices are competent Public Health Practitioners able to meet the future needs of employers.
The University of Salford’s School of Health and Society is an institutional member of the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER).
At an Open Day, you'll talk to Programme Leaders, tour our facilities and attend one-to-one sessions with our team who will be on hand to answer all of your questions.
For further information about the programme, please contact Nilam Prinjha, Lecturer in Public Health, School of Health & Society.
Alternatively, for general enquiries you can complete the contact us form, or email the Apprenticeship Service Unit: apprenticeships@salford.ac.uk.
You will:
- Learn the skills identified in the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (2016) from experts in the field, both in theory and practice
- Combine traditional academic learning with work-based learning through employment in a public health role
- Study at a university that embeds industry in all it does. This pioneering apprenticeship has been designed to develop the public health workforce to tackle the major public health issues of the 21st century
This is for you if...
You are passionate about health improvement at the population or community level, assessing and managing risk of disease and ill-health, and the prevention of premature deaths
You want to work as part of a national workforce that strives to help people and communities to maximise their potential for a healthy, happy and productive life, to live healthier for longer
You are working in a public-health related role and you want to improve your career prospects by gaining professional status as a Public health Practitioner
You want to help shape government policy and strategy
You want to study in a School that is a member of ASPHER
You want to be taught by staff who are nationally and internationally recognised for their research
All about the course
The BSc Public Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship has been developed through consultation with Public Health England and employers working in a range of public health related fields to enable successful graduates to work in the field as registered Public Health Practitioners.
Public Health Practitioners work as part of a national workforce that strives to help people and communities to maximise their potential for a healthy, happy and productive life, and to live healthier for longer.
The apprenticeship takes three years to complete, and during that time you will undertake a range of modules aligned to the Public Health Skills & Knowledge Framework (2016).
Evidence Based Health Promotion
This module will provide students with an introduction to evidence-based health promotion. This will include how interventions are planned, designed and developed and evaluated. Alongside this, students will learn how to access and use the evidence base, from which informed advice can be provided and research carried out.
Promoting the Public’s Health and Wellbeing
This module will introduce you to population and community-based health promotion approaches, explore theoretical underpinnings to behaviour change and how public health interventions are developed and evaluated.
Health Protection
This module will give students knowledge and understanding of infectious disease, and the challenges and successes of disease prevention and management. Students will also learn about the range of environmental hazards that can pose a risk to the public’s health and an understanding of how to mitigate these risks.
Public Health Intelligence
This module will introduce students to methods for classifying health and disease. Students will also learn about the technical, legal, and ethical issues that relate to using routine health surveillance data.
Designing, Developing and Evaluating Health Improvement Programmes
This module will provide students with knowledge about health care service design, planning, delivery and evaluation, drawing on best practice guidance and quality assurance frameworks. Students will also develop an understanding of the complexities of measuring health improvement and of setting performance indicators.
Skills for Public Health - Basic
This module will focus on developing your academic and reflective skills to capture evidence of core public health skills gained, in line with the Public Health Practitioner (PHP) framework. You will develop skills in recording and reporting on evidence of skill development to support portfolio development.
Communicating Health and Health Risks
On this module, students will learn skills for communicating health messages using different platforms, including the increasing use of digital health communications. Students will also learn about the barriers and facilitators to health communication within different population groups.
Collaborative Working in Public Health
This module focuses on developing your understanding of collaborative working across agencies involved in public health. You will explore the boundaries which impact on health outcomes and health inequalities.
Policy and Strategy in Public Health
This module will provide students with knowledge and understanding of how policies and strategies are proposed, adopted and used locally and nationally. It will also look at the role of policies in bringing about change (including the use of behavioural change theories) to impact health and wellbeing.
Ethical Issues in Public Health
In this module you will develop an understanding of key ethical considerations that impact on public health and health inequalities. You will learn how ethical frameworks can support decision making and explore ethical issues in relation to a particular area of public health you find interesting, such as smoking, inactivity, poor nutrition, or mental health and wellbeing.
Commissioning for Health
This module will provide students with the knowledge of how health and care services are funded, commissioned and procured. Students will also learn about measuring health improvement progress against key performance indicators.
Skills for Public Health - Intermediate
This module will focus on developing academic and reflective skills to capture evidence of core public health skills gained, in line with the Public Health Practitioner (PHP) framework. You will develop skills in recording and reporting on evidence of skill development to support portfolio development, collaboration with others and critical analysis and synthesis of personal evidence.
Leadership and Management in Public Health
This module will provide students with an understanding of the role of leadership in decision making and change management within organisations applicable to public health. You will learn about the principles of project management, corporate governance and accountability and the importance of evaluation, audit and quality assurance.
Health Economics
This module will provide students with an understanding of how to manage resources to achieve value for money and equitable health outcomes at a population/systems level.
Skills for Public Health - Advanced
This module will consolidate the work developed at L4 and L5 and reflect and review on your skill development across all of the Public Health Practitioner (PHP) framework. You will engage in reflective activities relating to stakeholder engagement and public health programme development and implementation. You will continue to develop skills in recording and reporting on evidence of skill development to support portfolio development.
Please note that it may not be possible to deliver the full list of options every year as this will depend on factors such as how many students choose a particular option. Exact modules may also vary in order to keep content current. When accepting your offer of a place to study on this programme, you should be aware that not all optional modules will be running each year. Your tutor will be able to advise you as to the available options on or before the start of the programme. Whilst the University tries to ensure that you are able to undertake your preferred options, it cannot guarantee this.
School of Health and Society
The School of Health and Society is a forward-thinking, dynamic school with a commitment to lifelong learning and real-world impact.
Our courses are informed by the latest research and we work closely with organisations from both the public and private sector to ensure our teaching is at the forefront of practice.
What about after uni?
With this qualification, you'll be well placed to apply for public health roles in local or national government health departments. The range of jobs varies widely, and can include health promotion, health policy development, research or health advocacy.
Full time students on this course can apply for student membership with The Royal Society for Public Health. Upon completion of the course students are eligible to apply for a fellowship membership with The Royal Society for Public Health.
Apprentice students who successfully complete the end-point assessment will be ‘registration-ready’ for professional registration as a Public Health Practitioner with the UK Public Health Register.
Career Links
The course has been developed in collaboration with employers in public health-related fields including City Councils, Local Authorities, Public Health England, Higher Education England (HEE).
Demand from employers nationally has led to the development of these standards, led by Public Health England. Regional demand ascertained in the North West and Yorkshire from Directors of Public Health has shown a high level of demand for the apprenticeship and the opportunities it can provide for new entrants within the system and for the career development of their own staff.
What you need to know
APPLICANT PROFILE
Suitable for those working in a public-health related role who wish to develop their careers further, or those employed as a new entrant apprentice in a public-health related role.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
International applicants will be required to show a proficiency in English. An IELTS score of 6.5 (with no element below 5.5) is proof of this. If you need to improve your written and spoken English, you might be interested in our English language courses.
Please note: The entry criteria below are related to entry onto this course in the 2022/23 academic year.
GCSE
Two GCSEs at minimum grade C/ grade 4 in English Language and Mathematics or equivalent Functional Skills level 2.
You must fulfil our GCSE entry requirements as well as one of the requirements listed below.
UCAS tariff points
120 points
BTEC National Diploma
DDM
Access to HE
120 points
Scottish Highers
120 points
Irish Leaving Certificate
120 points
European Baccalaureate
Pass in Diploma of at least 75%
Salford Alternative Entry Scheme (SAES)
We positively welcome applications from students who may not meet the stated entry criteria but who can demonstrate their ability to successfully pursue a programme of study in higher education. Students who do not have the traditional entry requirements may be able to apply through the Salford Alternative Entry Scheme. Support in preparing for the written assessment is available from the University.
How much?
The apprenticeship levy was introduced in April 2017 and requires all employers operating in the UK, with a pay bill of over £3 million each year to invest in apprenticeships.
The funding policy supports the changes to the way apprenticeships in England are paid for, underpinned by the apprenticeship levy of 0.5% of the annual pay bill for companies paying over £3 million per year.
There is also a co-investment model for companies who will not be paying into the levy. The government will cover 95% of the cost of the apprenticeship and the employer will only have to contribute the remaining 5%. Once payments have been declared to HMRC, employers will now have access to a digital apprenticeship account from which they will be able to access funding to pay for apprenticeship training.
The maximum amount of money allocated to each standard falls into a specific funding band, ranging from £1,500 to £27,000. The Social Worker standard has been allocated the following funding band:
Funding band maximum: £20,000
Additional costs
You should also consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits.
All set? Let's apply
Not in employment
In order to apply for an apprenticeship you must first be in employment with a company who is willing to put you onto the degree apprenticeship scheme. The government national apprenticeship website has further information on this subject: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/. This website also advertises vacancies for degree apprentices, unfortunately the university does not hold details of employers vacancies.
In employment
If you are currently in employment with a company who is willing to support you through a degree apprenticeship, then they will need to contact us in the first instance to express their interest in the degree apprenticeship scheme and then this will trigger the application process etc. Our next intake is January 2025, and applications close on Friday 22nd November, so get in touch today: apprenticeships@salford.ac.uk
Information for employers
If you want to support an employee on an apprenticeship programme, complete the online request for services form in the first instance. For general apprenticeship inquiries complete the contact us form, email: apprenticeships@salford.ac.uk. Once the completed request for services form is received, an online application form will be sent out to you to share with the candidate.