Advice on getting a healthcare job

Posting on behalf of my cousin here. She's currently in her second year ofa level 3 BTEC Health and Social Care Diploma, on track for a Merit as things stand at the moment. She also has GCSE passes including in English, Maths and Science. She would like to work in healthcare- she's flitted between being a paramedic, midwife and nurse at various stages and we know she'd be excellent at the practical, caring side of things. However she puts the minimum effort into coursework. For that reason we think it would be better to encourage her to do an apprenticeship, whether as a healthcare assistant or nuse, however there seem to be so few available. Are we missing something? Are there are any other alternatives you can suggest for someone who prefers the practical side of things to the academic? We've looked at standard healthcare assistant roles but you need significant hospital based experience for all the ones we've seen advertised and baring a tiny bit of work experience she doesn't have that.