Nursing ranks fifth on the list of the most desirable professions among teenagers, according to a survey commissioned by BBC Bitesize for National Careers Week.
The job of doctor topped the poll of 4,017 children aged between 13 and 16 across the UK, and the NHS emerged as the number-one choice of employer – ahead of tech giants such as Apple, Google and Microsoft.
The results of the survey suggest nursing is increasingly popular among teenagers, as the career choice rose four places when compared to the equivalent survey last year.
Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce, training and education officer for NHS England, 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 10 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.’
She pointed to ambitions under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan in which NHS England aims 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’.
The increase in popularity of nursing among teenagers suggested by the survey contrasts with data from UCAS showing that the numbers of students accepted onto nursing courses in England fell 10% in the last year and 26% in the last two years.
The release of the UCAS figures last month saw the Royal College of Nursing call on the government to introduce an ‘emergency package of measures’ to boost nurse recruitment.
