Healthcare Assistant Academy - Application

Overview

If you’re interested in a career in Healthcare, 15 training opportunities are currently available. If you successfully finish the academy, you will have industry recognised qualifications, supervised health care experience and be considered for a potential job role with one of the supporting companies.

This academy is funded by the Department for the Economy and delivered in partnership with Belfast Met. It will provide up to 15 individuals with the skills to take up Healthcare Assistant roles with one of the supporting companies: 

• Praxis
• M Care NI
• Macklin Care Homes

Training

The Healthcare Assistant Academy is an intensive 8 week training course providing practical knowledge and real-world experience required to work in the sector. 

Those selected for the academy will complete OCN NI Level 2 Certificate in Introduction to Working in Adult Social Care in Northern Ireland. This is an entry-level qualification designed to provide new social care practitioners with the knowledge and practical skills needed to work safely and effectively in health and social care settings.  It forms part of the Care in Practice (CiP) Framework, ensuring consistency in induction training across the sector.

The academy training will develop sector relevant skills in Social Care Practice and Services which will include: -

• Building Resilience and Self Care to address challenges associated with working in Adult Social Care Practice
• Communication in Adult Social Care
• Health and Safety in Adult Social Care
• Person-Centred Values in Adult Social Care 
• Continuing Professional Development in Adult Social Care
• Understanding Protection and Safeguarding in a Social Care context

Participants will receive a weekly training allowance of £180 for the duration of the academy, as well as help with travelling and childcare expenses where people qualify.

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be guaranteed a job interview with a supporting company. An interview is not a guarantee of a job. Offers of employment will be solely at the discretion of the companies following the interview.  

Successful participants can progress to the NCFE CACHE Level 2 Award in Care once employed in their roles, which aligns with the Adult Care Worker and Healthcare Support Worker Apprenticeship standards.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Eligible applicants will be invited to an Information Session and an Interview which will be held week commencing 19 January 2026.

TRAINING

The academy will be delivered in Girdwood Community Hub commencing Monday 2 February to Friday 27 March 2026. Training will be delivered on campus Monday to Thursday between 10am and 3pm, and online Fridays, also between 10am and 3pm.

Successful applicants must be available for the whole of the training period. 

• Participants will be paid a £180 weekly training allowance.
• Participants will be paid reasonable travel expenses covering their return journey from their place of residence to the college while in training.
• Participants may be eligible for assistance with childcare costs while in training.

Essential Criteria 

Applicants must:

• be at least 18 years old 
• have a right to work and to undertake Assured Skills Training in the UK at the point of application and not be disqualified from doing either by reason of their immigration status. Proof of this will be required in order to progress to interview.
• Evidence of these criteria will be required not later than 19 January 2026 if selected for interview

**Applicants should be aware that the company/companies may apply additional right to work criteria at point of employment and a job offer is not guaranteed.

Shortlisting Criteria

Whilst there is no minimum level of qualifications required to apply for the Healthcare Assistant Academy, preference will be given to applicants with Level 1 or higher English and Maths (equivalent to GCSE D-G)

If living outside Northern Ireland – by accepting an offer of a place on this pre-employment training Academy, you are committing to attending  training and pursuing a job opportunity with one of the supporting companies based in Northern Ireland.

Applications Open

Applications are welcome from everyone who meets the essential criteria and are particularly welcome from persons returning to work from a period of caring for their children or other family members.

If you have a disability and require assistance in completing this form please email Assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk or by telephoning 028 9041 6972.

Correspondence Regarding Your Application

All correspondence relating to your application will be via email from assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk. It is your responsibility as applicant to act as required within the given time frame.

Email whitelisting helps ensure that important messages from known senders won’t end up in the spam folder.

To whitelist the assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk email address, you may wish to:

• Open your email client and navigate to the settings.
• Find the option to create a new filter or add a new contact.
• Add the email address assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk as a known contact/safe sender
• Save the changes.

The exact steps may vary depending on the email client you are using.

If you do not receive an email about your application by 16 January 2026 please contact assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk and put Healthcare Assistant Academy 25/26 in the subject line

To find out how we manage your information please see privacy notice below:

https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/assured-skills-academies-privacy-notice

If you wish to make a complaint about the Assured Skills programme, please email assured.skills@economy-ni.gov.uk or telephone 028 9041 6941.