Health and social care sector
Get all the essential information about the sector that employs around four million people in the UK
Health consists of both private and public sector organisations including:
Employment opportunities in the social care sector are grouped into:
For examples of job roles in this sector, see graduate jobs in health and social care.
The largest employer in the health sector is the National Health Service (NHS) which employs more than 1.7 million people in the UK.
Unlike the health sector, social care roles are split across a number of different sized businesses. These include:
Graduates entering the health and social care sector can expect:
The biggest issue that the health and social care sector faces is meeting an increased demand for services when budgets are being tightened.
Budget restrictions could mean that less health and social care jobs are created. Although this isn't necessarily bad news, as graduates will be needed to replace those professionals that retire or leave.
There are signs that recent graduates are finding it difficult to secure work immediately after graduation in some health and social care jobs. In 2010/11 fewer graduates found work six months after graduation as social workers, physiotherapists, medical radiographers and occupational therapists than graduates from 2009/10 (HECSU, What Do Graduates Do? 2012)
The sector has something to offer everyone, find a job that suits your personality, skills and qualifications
These job profiles are examples of graduate careers in the health and social care sector:
To find the graduate job roles that best match your skills and interests, log in to what jobs would suit me?
For job vacancies in the health and social care sector, search graduate jobs in health and social care.
Discover how you can find a job, the importance of work experience and the skills that employers require
Many roles such as doctor, nurse, paramedic, psychologist and social worker require a relevant degree.
Other roles may not require a directly relevant degree but will require work experience or diploma in health and social care certificates to gain relevant skills and knowledge.
It is expected that the demand for highly qualified employees will increase over the next ten years with 490,000 more people educated to first degree and above by 2020.
Employers in the health and social care sector require candidates with:
Most undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to health and social care will include placements. This is your chance to gain experience alongside your qualification.
Gaining practical experience is important in this sector and can be achieved by volunteering. You can search for voluntary work in health and social care at Do-it , where you can narrow down your search by postcode and areas of interest.
To find work placements and internships in the health and social care sector, search for work experience.
Jobs within the NHS are advertised through NHS - Jobs and you can search by employer, salary or job type.
Social care roles are often advertised on borough or city council websites.
Vacancies for smaller organisations can be found by contacting organisations directly with a speculative application or through local press. There are also some specific job search sites, such as Health & Social Care Jobs, that cover roles across the UK.
To find jobs and graduate schemes in the health and social care sector, search graduate jobs in health and social care.
If you want to work in health and social care, you need to keep your skills up to date through continuing professional development
Some jobs, such as pharmacist, clinical psychologist, doctor and dentist, require postgraduate qualifications.
You may also need to do further study if you don't have a relevant degree. For example, if you want to be a social worker but didn't study this at undergraduate level, then you will need to study for an MA in Social Work to become registered as a social worker in the UK.
For more information on entry requirements and career development in health and social care, see types of jobs.
To find relevant postgraduate courses in the UK, search health and social care courses and research.
For many health and social care roles, it is a requirement that you are registered with a professional body/council.
Each body has its own criteria for continuing professional development (CPD) that needs to be met in order to maintain registration with them and practise in the UK.
Some professional bodies recognise postgraduate qualifications as meeting the criteria for continuing professional development. For example, the General Chiropractic Council recognises three Masters in Chiropractic (MChrio) courses across the UK as meeting the criteria.
There is a professional body for the majority of occupations in the health and social care sector. These include: