Careers in this sector are highly rewarding, giving you the chance to not only help people on an individual basis but make a difference to society as a whole.
Working in this sector is all about helping people. For example, healthcare involves treating people who are having problems with their physical health in hospitals, health centres and the community. At the same time, social care provides physical, emotional and social support to help vulnerable people live their lives with independence and dignity.
Everybody uses the specialist skills of the people in this sector in their lifetimes, and our local population is growing, and people are living longer. This means employers of health, care and medical professionals need to recruit more to meet the demand. As a result, the number of jobs available in this sector increased by 6% between 2011 and 2017, and the demand is predicted to continue to increase over the coming years.
The key requirement for a job in this sector is a caring and compassionate personality and a genuine desire to help people.
Career Options
The sector is very broad with many career options, whether you’re more suited to gaining a degree at university followed by medical training or starting with on-the-job experience and working towards professional qualifications later in your career to help you progress.
Our Career Pathways
Our career pathways have been designed alongside employers from this sector. They are a bespoke mix of qualifications and professional development opportunities, which will enable you to develop additional skills that employers are looking for.
Discover our pathways:
Engineering Pathway
Leading to engineering degrees or competitive apprenticeship routes
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Health & Social Care Professions Pathway
Leading to degrees and careers for support services and the NHS
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Physical Sciences Pathway
Leading to either pure science degrees or Physics/Maths based disciplines and professional courses
Find out more
Not sure what career you'd like?
Discover a range of sectors, including possible careers, average salaries, courses you may need to take, apprenticeship routes and available jobs.