Published on 2 October 2026
Supporting career development across the cancer workforce: Introducing the ACCEND Learning Hubs across Cheshire and Merseyside - by Khandker Manzoor, ACCEND Project Officer, Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance
Colleagues working in cancer care frequently report that finding the right learning and career development resources is not always straightforward. Good material exists, but it is spread across different platforms, and unless colleagues already know that something is there, it can be difficult to find.
The question raised most often in conversations about ACCEND across Cheshire and Merseyside is a practical one: where can colleagues find the resources that apply to their role? Cancer care is delivered by people working at many different levels of practice, from supportive and assistive roles through to advanced and consultant practice, and what is useful at one level is not necessarily useful at another.
The ACCEND Learning Hubs have been developed to address this.
About ACCEND
The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) programme was launched by NHS England in January 2023 and is co-delivered with Macmillan Cancer Support. Its framework sets out a career pathway running from supportive and assistive roles, through pre-registration and registered practice, to enhanced, advanced and consultant levels. Alongside this sit the core cancer capabilities required at each level and an education framework describing the knowledge that supports them.
The framework is recognised in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and has been a focus for Cancer Alliances across England. The Learning Hubs are the next stage of this work, translating the framework into resources that colleagues can use day to day.
Resources brought together in one place
The Learning Hubs bring learning pathways, education opportunities, role profiles, ACCEND modules, tools, animations and videos together in one place, organised by level of practice. Rather than searching across several platforms, colleagues can go to the hub that matches their role and work from there.
There are four hubs, each aimed at a different part of the cancer workforce. Each has its own web address and QR code, which makes them straightforward to share in team meetings, include in local communications or display on a noticeboard.
Supportive and Assistive Hub
This hub is for colleagues working at supportive and assistive levels of practice, including support workers, care co-ordinators,
navigators and multidisciplinary team co-ordinators. It includes role profiles and primary care cancer workforce training.
Explore the hub here: Open the Supportive and Assistive Hub
Pre-registration Hub
This hub is for students, apprentices and learners preparing to enter the cancer workforce. It sets out what the pre-registration level of practice involves, along with the relevant role profiles, which is also useful for colleagues supervising or supporting learners.
Explore the hub here: Open the Pre-registration Hub
Registered, Enhanced to Advanced (RETA) Hub
The RETA Hub supports registered colleagues developing through enhanced practice and towards advanced practice. It brings together the toolkit and role profile resources for these levels, setting out what is expected at each stage of development.
Explore the hub here: Open the Registered, Enhanced to Advanced (RETA) Hub
Leadership, Advanced and Consultant Education (LACE) Hub
The LACE Hub covers leadership, advanced and consultant levels of practice, bringing together the toolkit and role profile resources for colleagues leading services, teams and specialist practice.
Explore the hub here: Open the Leadership, Advanced and Consultant Education (LACE) Hub
Hubs developed in collaboration
Programme Manager and a Senior
Programme Manager at CMCA
The hubs have been shaped by workforce leads, clinicians, educators, subject matter experts, Cancer Alliances, NHS England colleagues and Technology Enhanced Learning partners. Involving colleagues from across the levels of practice has helped to ensure that the content reflects the roles it is intended to support.
The development of the ACCEND Learning Hubs has been led by John Gale, National ACCEND Senior Programme Manager, and Khandker Manzoor, ACCEND Project Officer, from Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA), working closely with NHS England, Technology Enhanced Learning colleagues, subject matter experts and partners across the cancer workforce.
John, who is also a Senior Programme Manager at CMCA, said: “We have already seen strong engagement with the Supportive and Assistive Learning Hub, the Foundations of Cancer Care and the ACCEND role profiles, with more than 7,000 launches across these resources.
“This next phase brings the wider ACCEND offer together through dedicated hubs covering Supportive and Assistive, Pre-registration, Registered, Enhanced to Advanced, and Leadership, Advanced and Consultant levels of practice. By adding the Course Finder, new videos and further role-specific resources, we are making it easier for colleagues across the cancer workforce to find the learning and career development support that is relevant to them.”
More information on the hubs
The hubs are hosted on the NHS Learning Hub by visiting this Catalogue, and an account is needed to open them. Accounts are free and can be set up in a few minutes using a UK email address. Colleagues who already have an e-learning for healthcare login can use the same details.
Colleagues are encouraged to visit the hub relevant to their role and share it with others in their team. For managers, the hubs may be a useful item for a team meeting or one to one, and the QR codes can be printed and displayed locally.
Supporting the future workforce
Workforce development takes place over the course of a career, as people move between roles, services and levels of practice. The Learning Hubs are intended to ensure that when a colleague is ready to take their next step, the information they need is easy to find.
Whether a colleague is preparing to enter the workforce, developing within an existing role, working towards advanced practice or leading services and teams, there is now a hub designed with them in mind. For Cheshire and Merseyside, this is an opportunity to raise awareness of ACCEND, support local workforce development and help colleagues make better use of the resources already available to them.
Feedback from colleagues using the hubs will help to shape how they develop and would be welcome.
You can contact Khandker at: khandker.manzoor@nhs.net