Higher Education Pathway for Armed Forces
Higher Education Pathway for Armed Forces (HEPAF) is a unique project that provides routes into all health careers for service leavers via a specialist pathway. It recognises the variety of qualifications, along with transferable skills that are gained during time in service. The University of Leicester is the first UK university to offer a pathway of this type.
At the University of Leicester, we understand armed forces personnel undertake a wide range of qualifications that can equip them for university-level study but are not always recognised by University Admissions Departments. Along with this, we appreciate as a result of time spent in service, individuals develop a range of transferable skills and experiences that we believe are applicable to successful careers in healthcare e.g. leadership, team working etc
As such, we have developed a unique programme that gives support to service leavers in using their qualifications and prior experience to apply to our healthcare courses.
HEPAF aligns with the ethos of The Armed Forces Covenant - ‘helping members of the armed forces community have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizen’ including ‘education’ and ‘starting a new career’.
Most of our courses have been added to the ELCAS database with more due to be added. One of our Lecturers, Amanda Cox, who created the pathway is now also working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and National Health Service England (NHSE) to expand this programme nationally.