Nurses' leaders will oversee a pilot scheme for would-be nurses to spend time working as healthcare assistants before starting a degree.
Pilots are likely to involve up to 200 nursing students on paid placements across England this autumn.
The government's response to the Francis report into care failures at Mid Staffordshire Hospital, proposed student nurses should spend 'up to a year' working as healthcare assistants to receive NHS funding for their degree.
Health Education England confirmed the steering group comprising representatives from the RCN, NMC, Care Quality Commission, NHS England, DH, Public Health England and NHS Employers, would oversee the pilot programme, to decide how to take forward the proposals and assess an appropriate timescale.