The Eastern Education Group, in partnership with Apollo, hosted a groundbreaking business breakfast tailored for the health and social care industry.
The event, organised by Virginia Planas, a practising nurse and midwife who also works for the group, is believed to be the first of its kind in the East of England.
The occasion took place at the University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday 22 January 2025.
The keynote speaker for this inaugural event was Oliver Inwards, Apprenticeship Manager for NHS England. He discussed the strategies underpinning NHS England’s long-term workforce plan, with a focus on workforce supply and apprenticeships.

Oliver said: “We talked about a range of organisations about how best we can work together to try and make the best of apprenticeships and grow the healthcare sector workforce.
“The message was to engage with partners as we all have the same goal – and this is the first time we have a dedicated event to take our ideas forward.
The event was particularly poignant as National Apprenticeship Week – a campaign to promote the importance of these qualifications – is taking place in the second week of February.

On apprenticeships in general, Oliver added: “The apprenticeship route is fantastic. You get a salary as you earn a qualification, and it gives you a foot in the door to employment. From our point of view – they help develop individuals and support them in becoming our leaders of the future – both in the NHS and other industries.”
One of the 33 guests to attend was Graham Seward, an Associate Director of System Workforce for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board. On the event, Graham said: “It’s been a really interesting event that brought stakeholders together across the system in order to think differently about supply routes into healthcare roles. The event is unique – it’s certainly the first time Eastern Education Group has brought us all to listen and learn together. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a series of events that moves things forwards and creates an overarching plan across the system.”

Virginia Planas, Strategic NHS and Healthcare Partnership Manager, hailed the event as a success. She said: “As the first event of its kind exclusively focused on the health and social care sector, I am confident it has been a success. Many connections were made, paving the way for new opportunities.
“Looking ahead, we are committed to facilitating further networking events to foster collaboration among health and social care services and to build on the strong foundation we’ve established.”