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NHS Apprenticeship Competency Questions — With Answer Guidance
NHS uses competency-based questions at the video interview and assessment centre stages. Here are the questions to expect, mapped to the competencies they test — with guidance on what strong answers look like.
Competency Questions by Area
Patient focus
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated patient focus.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show patient focusunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Leadership
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show leadershipunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Decision making
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated decision making.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show decision makingunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Team working
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated team working.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show team workingunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Communication
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated communication.”
“Give me an example of when you had to show communicationunder pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
Commitment to NHS values (The NHS Constitution)
“Tell me about a time you demonstrated commitment to nhs values (the nhs constitution).”
“Give me an example of when you had to show commitment to nhs values (the nhs constitution)under pressure.”
What strong looks like
A specific STAR answer with a clear individual role, measurable outcome, and genuine reflection. Avoid: describing what “the team” did without isolating your contribution.
The STAR Framework
S — Situation: Set the scene briefly (1–2 sentences). Enough context, no more.
T — Task: What was your specific responsibility? What was expected of you?
A — Action: What YOU did — not "we". Be specific. This is 60% of the answer.
R — Result: Quantify if possible. What changed? What did you learn?
Preparing Your Stories
Aim for 5–7 strong STAR stories before your first interview. You should be able to adapt each story to answer multiple different competency questions — a good teamwork story can often be reframed to show communication or resilience too.
Examples can come from school, part-time work, sport, volunteering, or any other experience where you had a genuine individual responsibility.
Want the full prep pack?
NHS Apprenticeship Prep Pack
Application stages, competencies, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist — in one complete pack.