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An accredited degree and registration with the Health and Care Professions Council. Occasionally there are trainee biomedical scientist positions for applicants with relevant A levels or appropriate level 3 qualifications.

In the NHS you’d typically work a 37.5 hour week and be paid on Agenda for Change pay bands 5 - 9, depending on your role and level of responsibility. Terms and conditions of service will vary for employers outside of the NHS.

Attention to detail, scientific research skills, comfortable with complex equipment and a good team player.

You could work in many different NHS, government and private laboratories, including hospital, NHS Blood and Transplant and the UK Health Security Agency laboratories. Biomedical scientists can progress to other roles within healthcare science specialising in quality, safety, laboratory management, or in the wider pharmaceutical and healthcare science sector.

It is possible to start in an entry-level post without formal qualifications, but GCSEs or equivalent qualifications are an advantage. Apprenticeships in health informatics are also available. More senior project and programme management roles are likely to need a degree or equivalent experience. A project or programme management qualification may also be helpful such as PRINCE2, APM or Managing Successful Programmes (MSP). Many IT projects in health now use the AGILE project management methodology. The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme also has a health informatics strand for graduates with relevant degrees.

Most project and programme management jobs in the NHS are covered by Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales. This pay system covers all staff except doctors, dentists and the most senior managers. ICT staff in the NHS usually work standard hours of 37.5 per week. Terms and conditions for non-NHS employers and contractors will vary.

Good communication and team working skills are needed for all roles within project and programme management. Many roles will also require good presentation, IT and organisational skills. You’ll need to be enthusiastic, be able to work under pressure and on your own initiative.

There are opportunities to progress your career into senior management roles. Most NHS organisations now have chief information officers who lead the delivery of knowledge management systems locally. Courses in health informatics are also offered by some universities at undergraduate and master's level. The NHS has also developed training and courses to support you through your career.