Study and training
Whatever stage you are at of your career or education journey, study and training is available to give your future NHS career a boost. Even if you are already working in the NHS or the wider health and social care sector, you'll find opportunities and support to push your career to the next level.
Apprenticeships
Not every NHS career starts with a degree. You'll find a range of NHS apprenticeships, traineeships and cadet schemes that lead to many of the more than 350 different careers in the NHS. You'll also find that many apprenticeships are available to current NHS staff as part of continuous professional development.
University training
You could start your degree straight from school or college, after an apprenticeship or later in life should you be thinking of changing careers. Take a look at the opportunities and support available:
- applying to university through UCAS – including tips for your personal statement and interviews
- courses leading to a range of healthcare professions on our course finder
- the financial support available to you at university including information on the minimum £5,000 annual training grant for certain courses
Graduate opportunities
If you are a new graduate, or have had a degree for awhile, and looking for a career change, there’s a range of study and training courses and schemes to help you start an NHS career:
- fast track shortened postgraduate courses leading to registration in several healthcare professions
- NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme - a fast-track programme to prepare you to work as a senior manager in healthcare
- NHS Scientist Training Programme – a training programme for science or engineering graduates
- specialty training in public health – information on how to train to become a public health consultant with or without a medical degree
Already working in health and social care
Maybe you are already working in the NHS or the care sector. All the training above is also available to you but also much, much more:
- E-learning for healthcare – extensive free online training resources for NHS staff
- Clinical academic careers – find out about funded training towards qualifications such as a master’s degree or PhD and the types of clinical research programmes available
- Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST) - if you are a registered and experienced clinical scientist, HSST could lead you into a consultant healthcare scientist role
- NHS Leadership Academy – information about the wide range of leadership and management programmes offered