The Health and Social Care sector is undergoing radical and rapid change. Developments in frontline health and social care mean there's a demand for well-trained and multi-skilled people across a range of rewarding employment opportunities.

Skills you can develop

As well as the specific subject knowledge gained from studying for a degree in health & social care will develop many transferable and work-related skills that are highly valued by employers and which will increase your employability.

For Health and Social Care students the employability skills, you will develop include the ability to:

• draw together, analyse and critically evaluate information
• communicate effectively with individuals, groups and organisations
• produce accurate records and make informed decisions
• think logically and propose reasoned solutions
• put together well-judged arguments and question assumptions
• manage time, learn independently and use ICT effectively
• work as part of a team and take on responsibility
• write concisely, clearly and accurately
• interpret, use and evaluate various types of data
• relate the knowledge gained to situations in health and social care

These transferable skills are applicable to a wide range of graduate careers both within and outside the Health and Social Care sector.

5 reasons as to why a person should consider a Career in Health and Social Care.

1. IT’S ONE OF THE BIGGEST SECTORS OF EMPLOYMENT – This is regarding the vast variety of roles and vacancies available.

Did you know that there are over 350 different job roles in the Health and Social Care sector? (NHS)  The figure is pretty phenomenal and this showcases the vast number of different jobs a person could progress to within their Career in the Health and Social Care sector, making it a very attractive career indeed.

It’s not all about the NHS either, types of employers and workers are far-reaching and extremely broad. Within the Health and Social Care sector, a person could work in the National Health Service (NHS), charities, a partnership with the NHS and their Local Authority and in the Private Health sector.

How is Health and Social Care one of the biggest sectors?  In June 2019 census, there was over 1.2 million working across a variety of roles within the NHS. That’s not counting those working for charities, in a partnership or in the Private Health sector.

According to the NHS Jobs website, there are around 25,000 vacancies advertised every month. Which shows just how big this sector is.

Another appeal for the Health and Social Care sector is that your skills and experience are completely transferable, making you an attractive prospect across the world, not just the UK.

2. THERE’S A JOB ROLE FOR EVERYONE

You can have a career in the Health and Social Care sector with several different qualifications (level of qualification and the type of qualification), skills and experience.

As reason 1 states, the Health and Social Care sector is one of the biggest sectors. Because of this, it means a variety of different roles will require different qualifications, skills and experience.

Depending on what role a person wants to pursue, they will require a certain level of qualification and possibly experience; usually starting from a Level 2 Health and Social Care qualification, up to a Doctorate (Level 8) in a specialist area. This makes the sector one of the best in terms of career progression. If you begin on Level 2 can you imagine where you might be in a few years?

If you want to find out more about the different qualification levels and the ways in which you can achieve those levels visit this link – https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels

If you are a person who has an interest in Health and Social Care, but you don’t yet have the qualifications for the career area you are interested in. Don’t worry about that because many Universities have enough education and training provisions to help you get started, even if this is from Level 1.

There is no doubt that anyone could progress to a role within the Health and Social Care sector.

For example:

Using the https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/compare-roles website – I compared the role of a Social Worker and a Support Worker.

To become a Social Worker a person would need a degree level qualification (Level 6 or above) whereas to become a Support Worker, there are no set entry requirements but a qualification within Health and Social Care is usually required, this could be a Level 2 qualification.

They are both similar in the sense of supporting children, young people and adults to live more successfully as a unit or as individuals.

You can achieve these qualifications in a variety of different ways, usually starting from school (GCSE/ BTEC), to Post 16 study at College (Vocational/Technical)/ Sixth Form (A-Level) or Apprenticeship, then onto Post 18 study at University etc.

However, if that is the route a person wants to take, then there is endless opportunity to do so!!

3. YOU’LL NEVER BE BORED

Because of how many different jobs, there is opportuniuty something for everyone.

Want to work with babies? Want to work with the elderly? Want to specialise in cancer patients? Want to find the cure for cancer? Or try to find a cure for any disease or illness for that matter? Then, the Health and Social Care sector has a role for you.

It is such a varied sector, that whatever a person’s interest are, whatever they want to specialise in, there is most definitely something they can do. It all depends on the individual’s motivation, strengths, drive and skills.

When we think of Health and Social Care, most people think of ‘Doctors and Nurses’ when in fact, those roles themselves have so many different specialisms. A Doctor, for example might specialise in Surgery, General Practice or Pathology (amongst many other options) Similarly a Nurse might specialise in Mental Health, Learning Difficulties, Cardiology or Diabetes, a Care Assistant might specialise in Dementia or Home Care. The list can quite literally go on and on. Whatever your own interests there will be a role or even a specialism for you.

Think about how digital developments are changing the way we work in Health and Social Care; this is great news for those of you who embrace these types of changes and would see them as a part of your own career development. We know that there are challenging times ahead arising from a growing and ageing population and a tidal wave of chronic diseases. Without a doubt, the culture in Health and Social Care will be transformed by digital technologies with care becoming ‘smarter’ delivering more cost-effective patient centred care.

4. JOB SECURITY

Let’s face it, in the current economic climate one of the main worries people have is losing work and therefore not being able to live the life they aspire to have.

Unlike many sectors that are perhaps losing workers or in decline because of socio-economic factors, the health care field is growing rapidly and arguable more than any other growing sector Dozens of health careers have good or excellent job prospects, meaning finding a job is easier.

A career in social care offers long-term employment prospects, with opportunities for promotion and progression as well as job security.

Adult social care is one of the few sectors where jobs are increasing, offering significant numbers of long-term career opportunities in the current job market. There are an estimated 1.49 million people working in social care, and by 2035 we’ll need to fill around 580,000 more jobs.

Somewhere in your community, there’s a job that you can do to help others. If you like working with people, social care offers a worthwhile job that can turn into a rewarding, long-term career.

5. JOB SATISFACTION

What’s not to love about helping and supporting others on a day to day basis?

Probably the biggest benefit of working in the Health and Social Care sector is job satisfaction.

Usually, people who work within Health and Social Care, have a passion for helping and supporting others. This can be with Physical, Intellectual, Emotional or Social support – if a person is able to help another person, it is in most cases a very rewarding feeling.

A person working in Health and Social Care is making a difference to someone’s life. If you ask the professional, they’ll probably tell you that the patient/client has usually enriched their lives in some way too!

So, what’s stopping you from considering a career in Health and Social Care?

This is just a small number of reasons as to why a person should consider a Career in Health and Social Care.

It will take a person on a journey, not just a professional one but a personal one as well.