The NHS

The NHS is the UK's largest employer with around 1.5 million staff providing healthcare services to over 1 million patients every 36 hours. Most services are free for UK residents.

Step into Health offers a dedicated career pathway from military to NHS. Beginning as a 2014 pilot at Norfolk & Norwich NHS Trust, it quickly expanded as NHS organisations offered insight days, work experience and application support for ex-forces personnel.

Since 2016, NHS Employers have rolled out the programme nationwide, supporting participating employers to embed it into recruitment and engaging through Armed Forces networks. Step into Health won Ex-Forces Initiative of the Year in 2019.

There are over 350 clinical and non-clinical NHS roles. Whatever your experience, there is a potential NHS career in maintenance, administration, management, finance, communications, catering or clinical services.

Step into Health connects skilled Armed Forces community candidates with NHS opportunities. It aims for the NHS to benefit from ex-forces transferable skills and values like leadership, communication, teamwork, loyalty, commitment and adaptability to change. With key partners, it works with NHS organisations across England and Wales on inclusive recruitment guidance.

Pledging NHS organisations publicly commit to removing recruitment barriers, sharing a Step into Health contact, building a Career Transition Partnership relationship, using Step into Health branding and recording candidate interactions. In return they access the candidate system to connect with jobseeking forces members directly.

A skills/experience tool helps veterans see potential NHS careers and apprenticeship routes into roles. Apprenticeships mix on-the-job and classroom training. Creating a Step into Health profile is the first step, showing interest, location and career appeal to employers and tracking placements/events attended.

The next step is contacting specific interesting NHS organisations directly through login representatives. Each has different opportunities, so contacting all of interest is encouraged. NHS employers have also added mentorship details to the VETS programme for those seeking NHS roles.

In summary, Step into Health enables Armed Forces members to transition skills and values into the vast range of clinical and non-clinical roles within the NHS, the UK's cherished national health service. It matches candidates to opportunities through pledge commitments from NHS organisations, tools to explore careers and create visibility, and direct contact channels to transition successfully.