A survey by BBC Bitesize has revealed that the NHS is the first choice of employer for teenagers. It came ahead of FIFA and various tech firms.
In a survey of career preferences of 4,000 young people, both nurse and doctor made the top ten. One in ten of those surveyed said doctor was their top career pick.
Last week was National Careers Week and thousands of secondary school children in England attended talks and watched videos to learn about the possibilities available to them if they pursue an NHS career.
The students were able to hear from a range of NHS staff about how they reached their goals and get tips on crafting applications for jobs, apprenticeships, and training.
The NHS has over 350 different career opportunities including IT professionals, healthcare scientists, healthcare support worker to midwives, nurses and pharmacists.
As part of the Long Term Workforce Plan, the NHS has committed to growing its workforce to navigate the rising demand for healthcare. There are plans to double medical school training places by 15,000 and increase the number of GP training places by 50 per cent to 6,000 by 2031.
Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce, training and education officer, said: “It’s exciting to see that the NHS is the first-choice employer among teenagers, with doctor sitting first and nursing fifth in the top ten jobs they have their eyes on as a future career, offering the NHS a real opportunity to secure the workforce we need to deliver care for patients.
“Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan we are set to double the number of medical school training places, deliver 24,000 more nurse training places, and increase the number of GP training places by 50% to 6,000 per year by 2031/32, meaning even more teenagers can pursue their career of choice as part of the NHS.
“To meet these ambitions, we need to make sure that young people have the confidence to be able to reach their career ambitions and our Step into the NHS programme will hopefully support many of them with the job-seeking skills they need.”
