Provide statistical leadership to a multi-disciplinary team.
Apprentices develop advanced statistical knowledge for designing, analysing, and reporting medical research studies. This includes selecting appropriate study designs, calculating sample sizes, writing statistical analysis plans, and applying methods such as adaptive designs, missing data strategies, and alpha control. The programme also covers regulatory frameworks from bodies including the FDA, MHRA, and ICH, alongside data protection, Good Clinical Practice, and the ethics of clinical research. Statistical leadership, project management, and communicating results to both technical and non-technical audiences are central throughout.
Week to week, apprentices write and review statistical sections of study protocols and analysis plans, programme analyses in SAS or R, and produce tables, listings, and figures for study reports. They contribute to regulatory submissions and grant applications, attend cross-functional team meetings alongside clinicians, data managers, and medical writers, and review documents produced by other team members. Monitoring active studies, checking that statistical model assumptions are met, and keeping up with methodological developments in the literature are also regular parts of the role.
Completing this apprenticeship leads to roles such as statistician, medical statistician, or biostatistician, typically at a mid-level or senior position within a statistical team. Employers span pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations, NHS trusts, academic clinical trials units, biotechnology firms, and medical device manufacturers. Progression commonly moves toward principal statistician or statistical lead positions, with some routes into consultancy or academic research. The qualification is relevant wherever evidence-based decision-making about treatments or healthcare interventions is needed.
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No training providers currently listed for this standard.
Completers typically enter roles as a Biostatistician or Medical Statistician, working within a study team to design trials, write statistical analysis plans, programme analyses in SAS or R, and contribute to regulatory submissions. Some move directly into a Senior Statistician position, particularly where the employer sponsored the apprenticeship and the individual has been working at that level throughout training.
Within three to five years, many move into Senior Biostatistician or Principal Statistician roles, taking ownership of complex studies and providing statistical oversight to junior colleagues. Beyond that, two tracks tend to open up. The leadership track leads to roles such as Head of Biostatistics or Director of Statistical Sciences, with responsibility for team strategy and resourcing. The specialist track leads to positions such as Statistical Methodology Researcher or Quantitative Sciences Lead, focusing on developing and publishing novel analytical methods.
The largest share of roles are in pharmaceutical and contract research organisations, where statisticians support clinical development programmes from Phase I through to regulatory submission. NHS trusts, academic medical centres, and publicly funded research institutes such as MRC units also hire at this level. Medical device and biotechnology companies make up a smaller but steady share of demand. Roles exist across private, public, and charitable research settings.
Throughout the apprenticeship, learning takes place alongside employment. The apprentice builds competence in statistical methods, study design, regulatory compliance, programming, and the communication and leadership skills the role demands. Before final assessment, a gateway review confirms that the apprentice and their employer are satisfied the required knowledge, skills, and behaviours have been developed to the necessary standard. Final assessment then verifies that the apprentice can perform the role independently and to the level expected of a qualified medical statistician. Assessment models for many Level 7 standards are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification.
Gathering evidence as work happens is far more manageable than reconstructing it later. Apprentices should keep records of statistical analyses they have led, protocols and analysis plans they have contributed to, regulatory documents they have reviewed, and instances where they have communicated statistical findings to mixed audiences. Regular review meetings with the employer and training provider will help identify any gaps in the knowledge, skills, and behaviours framework well before the gateway, leaving time to address them without last-minute pressure.
For this standard, look for providers with demonstrable links to the pharmaceutical, clinical research or NHS analytics sectors, not just generic statistics or data science programmes. Achievement rates above 65% matter here, but given the small cohort sizes typical at Level 7, check that the rate is based on a meaningful number of completions rather than a handful. Strong providers will have tutors with applied medical statistics backgrounds, covering SAS and R in live analytical contexts, and will show evidence of apprentices producing real statistical analysis plans or regulatory submissions during the programme.
Be cautious of providers whose teaching staff come exclusively from academic statistics without clinical trial or regulatory experience. If a provider cannot explain how they cover ICH guidelines, estimands, or adaptive trial design in their curriculum, that is a gap that matters for this occupation. High learner volumes combined with low or declining achievement rates suggest the programme is oversubscribed relative to the support available. Vague answers about employer engagement during the off-the-job training period, or an inability to point to apprentices who have moved into biostatistician roles, are both worth pressing on.
Applicants typically need a strong mathematical or statistical background, usually a degree in statistics, mathematics, or a closely related discipline. Entry requirements are set by individual employers and training providers, so these vary. The apprentice must be in a paid role that genuinely requires statistical expertise applied to medical or health research. Prior experience in a relevant sector, such as pharma or clinical research, is advantageous but not always required.
The typical duration is around 30 months, though the actual length depends on the apprentice's prior learning and the employer's programme structure. The apprentice remains employed throughout and applies learning directly to their job. A portion of working time is dedicated to off-the-job learning. Because apprenticeship funding rules are subject to ongoing reform under Skills England, check the current specification on gov.uk for the latest requirements on duration and off-the-job training hours.
Before reaching end-point assessment, the apprentice must pass through a gateway, where the employer and training provider confirm the apprentice has demonstrated the required knowledge, skills and behaviours. Assessment models for many Level 7 standards are being reviewed, so visit the gov.uk page for standard ST0669 to confirm the current end-point assessment methods. The assessment is designed to verify that the apprentice can independently lead statistical work on medical research studies to professional standards.
The funding band for this standard is £17,000, which is the maximum that can be drawn from government funding. Levy-paying employers use their digital apprenticeship service account to pay training costs directly. Employers who do not pay the levy co-invest with government, currently contributing 5% of training costs with the government covering the rest, though this is subject to change. Employers with fewer than 50 staff taking on a 16 to 18 year old apprentice pay nothing towards training costs.
Day-to-day work centres on designing clinical studies, writing and reviewing statistical analysis plans, programming analyses in SAS or R, and producing tables and graphs that summarise results. The apprentice attends multidisciplinary team meetings alongside clinicians, data managers, medical writers and project managers. They contribute to regulatory submissions, critique technical documents written by other specialists, and keep up with emerging methods through journal reading and conferences. Some travel to company sites or scientific meetings may be required.
Completion leads to the job titles of medical statistician or biostatistician at a level where independent statistical leadership of research studies is expected. From there, progression typically moves towards senior or principal statistician roles, with responsibility for larger study portfolios or line management of junior colleagues. In academic settings, involvement in student supervision and independent methodology research becomes more prominent. Further professional development through bodies such as the Royal Statistical Society supports continued career growth.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 669.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.