When a valued practice manager announces their retirement, most organisations face a familiar dilemma: wait until they leave and scramble to recruit, or plan ahead strategically. For Marie Cooper at Primary Integrated Community Services, the choice was clear. What followed was a partnership with Damar Training that not only solved an immediate challenge but transformed how the organisation thought about talent development.
The challenge: Avoiding the succession planning cliff edge
Marie Cooper, who joined Primary Integrated Community Services in March 2025, was recently presented with a scenario that many healthcare organisations will recognise. “Working in the world of GP practices, we don’t have many opportunities for succession planning,” she explained – so when their practice manager shared that they were planning to retire within two years, Marie identified the risk of recruitment at that sensitive point in time and the transition it would mean for the practice – and then the opportunity it presented.
Marie saw the chance to implement something more strategic. “We wanted to do something where we can grow some of the skills of the workforce so that they’re ready when our practice manager is ready to retire.”
The solution: Discovering the apprenticeship route
Marie’s search for solutions led her to an unexpected discovery. “I started to have a look at different apprenticeship opportunities, and I came across a news article where Damar had done some work in the south and then replicated it in Manchester where there was a deputy practice manager cohort of learners studying the Level 5 Operations Manager qualification.”
“I thought, well, this is brilliant. This is exactly what we are looking for,” Marie recalled. Recognising the value of Damar’s expertise, she decided to engage them not just as a training provider, but as a recruitment partner – a decision that would prove transformative for an organisation new to apprentice hiring.
The recruitment partnership: Cutting through the red tape
For Marie’s colleagues at Primary Integrated Community Services, recruiting an apprentice was entirely new territory. The organisation had experience with clinical apprenticeships through local universities, but corporate function apprenticeships were uncharted waters.
Marie found the perfect analogy to explain Damar’s role to her team: “Think of it like working alongside a job agency. If you were looking for a great candidate and you were working alongside an agency, the agency would do a lot of that work for you. They would do an initial sift of the applicants. They would help you make sure that you’re honing the advert and all of that sort of stuff in the right place.”
Damar delivered on this promise. “We were sent probably about six or seven candidates to shortlist, and we shortlisted three of them. All three were brilliant. The candidates were well-briefed and prepared, allowing interviews to focus on fit and potential rather than basics.”
Ultimately, they selected Hollie, whose attitude, experience and skill set made her the standout candidate. Her background as a receptionist and experience working in a Primary Care Network (PCN) provided relevant context without requiring extensive prior management experience.
Reimagining the interview process: Values over experience
Marie implemented a significant shift toward values-based recruitment rather than traditional experience-focused hiring. “I worked alongside the practice management team to hone the interview questions they were suggesting that we ask and we started to recruit based on values rather than based on experience because an apprentice isn’t going to bring a truckload of experience,” she explained.
By focusing on potential instead of extensive prior management experience, they opened up the talent pool while still finding an excellent candidate. “We still managed to get somebody who was experienced at those things, who’d been a receptionist for some time and then worked in a PCN, even though we didn’t list as essential criteria on the job advert.”
Marie also made succession planning visible internally: “We went out with the vacancy internally and we made a splash of it, making it clear that this is succession planning. This is us being ready.” This transparency demonstrated the organisation’s commitment to honest communication and investing in its people.
Supporting managers as partners in development
Marie was clear that success required proper infrastructure and manager commitment. “I remember saying to the practice manager at the point where we sat down and worked through what this could look like, I know you would traditionally just put in a recruitment request. You’d hire somebody and then we’d all feel the stress if they couldn’t do the job. We can’t do that here.”
The expectations were explicit: managers needed to be invested in Hollie’s studies, help her apply learning in the workplace and support her transition from academic to real-world practice. Marie attended interviews alongside both the practice manager and deputy practice manager, who would jointly oversee Hollie’s development.
Damar’s ongoing support provided additional reassurance. “The practice management team have got a good relationship with Damar as well and they know who they can get in touch with to discuss any questions or concerns,” Marie noted. “Damar listened to everything that we needed. They understood the context and they focused on the things that were really critical to get right. All the way through Damar were very much our recruitment partner.”
The outcome: Structured succession and strategic growth
“What this is now going to give us is a really structured approach to one person beginning their career as a practice manager and one person ending their career as a practice manager. And it’s done with the robust education background that the apprenticeship offers, but also giving them all of those real-world skills that somebody would need to experience.”
While changes to the Level 5 Operations Manager Apprenticeship funding mean this may be a one-off for the practice at this level, the experience has opened Marie’s eyes to broader possibilities. “I think there are lots of opportunities for apprenticeships in this organisation,” she reflected, particularly in leadership, management, administration and digital functions.
For organisations facing similar succession challenges, Marie’s experience demonstrates that apprenticeships offer more than just a recruitment solution – they provide a strategic pathway for developing tomorrow’s leaders while preserving institutional knowledge and organisational culture.
Key takeaways
Succession planning doesn’t have to mean crisis management: Identifying leadership transitions early and investing in structured development avoids the cliff edge of sudden departures and rushed recruitment
Damar’s free recruitment service functions as a true partnership: From candidate sifting to applicant briefing, Damar handle the heavy lifting while ensuring the organisation maintains control over final selection
Values-based recruitment opens up the talent pool: Focusing on attitude and potential rather than extensive prior experience helped Primary Integrated Community Services find an excellent candidate who might have been overlooked in traditional recruitment
Manager buy-in and infrastructure are critical: Clear expectations, dedicated time for supporting apprentice learning and organisational commitment to developmental mentorship determine apprenticeship success
Apprenticeships benefit everyone, not just the apprentice: Fresh perspectives challenge established practices, develop coaching skills and help build a culture of continuous learning.