The Royal College of Midwives attended and were represented by Chief Executive, Gill Walton, who explained the benefits of the course for both students and patients.
The newly qualified midwives completed a three year course, which included 50% academic work and 50% practical placement on a maternity unit in a NHS Trust, offering them the chance to be ‘hands on’ in bringing new lives into the world with the support of a supervisor.
The midwifery degree apprenticeship is open to maternity support workers and offers a non-traditional, typically university based, route into the profession.
Charlotte Slater, 30, had worked at the trust as an MSW for two years before applying for the degree apprenticeship. She said: "Becoming a qualified midwife was a childhood ambition for me.
"I would not have been able to financially afford to go to university as an adult but thanks to the trust offering the midwifery degree apprenticeship I was able to achieve my goal while being financially secure.
“I received a lot of support, especially from my colleagues in the antenatal department, and I will forever be grateful to them.
"I hope to progress my career with the trust and become a Band 6 midwife in the future.”
Professor Derek Moore, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences, said:
“We are really pleased to see our first cohort of Midwifery graduate apprenticeships complete their training. We are very proud to be the trailblazers in delivering the world’s first degree apprenticeship in Midwifery at the University of Greenwich along with many other new healthcare apprenticeships that we offer. The apprenticeship route complements our typical degree pathways, and is really important for those already working in the NHS to be able to develop a new career while working. We wish our graduate apprenticeships well in their future careers.”
