The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has launched an academy and secured National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC) accreditation to train a skilled workforce ready to deliver the hospitals of the future.
“NHP offers a significant opportunity to the supply chain with a huge 15-year pipeline of work,” said Emma Whigham, Hospital 2.0 Alliance Director.
The Academy will support NHS Trusts, programme partners and the wider supply chain, providing training and development opportunities tied directly to the demands of modern hospital construction.
It aims to strengthen capability across technical, professional and trade roles, while also creating routes into employment for new entrants.
In a programme expected to run for more than a decade, the Academy is positioned as a practical investment: one focused on ensuring that hospitals are delivered by a workforce that can meet tightened timelines, new standards and evolving technological requirements.
At a recent event bringing together NHS trusts, industry partners and technical specialists, NHP leaders outlined what the programme’s pipeline means for the health service.
Demonstrations highlighted how digital tools and more standardised designs will shape future hospital projects across England.
Alongside the launch, NHP confirmed it has achieved NSAfC accreditation through a collaboration with Construction Industry Training Board (CITB.)
The accreditation sets a national baseline for skills, training quality and workforce development across NHP projects.
According to the programme, applying the NSAfC framework to early schemes will help standardise expectations from suppliers and ensure consistent access to high-quality training, regardless of region.
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to social value. The NSAfC Framework was created by industry for industry,” said Anthony Frayne, CITB Customer Engagement Manager.
In addition to these changes, this year NHS England launched a £37 bn multi‑supplier “Hospital 2.0” framework to standardise and accelerate construction, refurbishment and lifecycle works under the New Hospital Programme.