Dr Navina Evans, the chief executive of Health Education England, has pledged support for National Careers Week with a rallying call to potential recruits to join the ‘NHS family’.

National Careers Week (1-6 March) is a celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. The aim is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support young people leaving education.

Within the NHS more than 350 careers are available, meaning there are jobs to suit everyone, regardless of age or background.

Interest in health and care careers has soared during the pandemic, with a huge surge in visitors to the NHS Health Careers website seeking information about scores of different roles.

Record numbers of students have applied to begin nursing courses at English universities this year, while last year saw the highest ever number of acceptances for GP training posts.

Data suggests that more people are not only looking for an NHS career, but looking to find one that matches their skills and interests. The number of people completing the ‘Find your Career’ tool on the website increased by 150 per cent in the last two months compared with the same period in 2020.

Interest in working in mental health has also increased since the start of the year, with a 133 per cent rise in people seeking information about the psychological professions.

Dr Navina Evans said: “It’s a really proud thing to be part of this movement, and I really do believe it’s a movement. It’s a most rewarding career. The best thing about it is the people – the patients, your colleagues and the communities you get to engage with. It’s really rich, and enriching, to be involved in something that puts you in touch with the human condition every single day.”