Government unveils multimillion-pound package to open NHS careers to young people from deprived areas
Thousands of aspiring doctors and nurses from disadvantaged backgrounds are set to benefit from new apprenticeships, medical school access courses and targeted training placements as part of the government's 10 Year Health Plan.
The government has announced a sweeping package of measures aimed at breaking down barriers to healthcare careers for young people from England's most deprived communities, including 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships, funded medical school access courses, and a pledge to increase the proportion of former free school meals recipients entering medical school by 50 per cent within a decade.
Backed by £65.4 million, the nursing apprenticeships will be concentrated in areas facing the greatest training shortages and highest levels of deprivation, offering earn-while-you-learn opportunities that allow people to build careers without leaving their communities or facing upfront costs. A further £2.3 million will support 2,000 young people from deprived areas in applying to medical courses over the next three years, including access to summer schools and NHS placements designed to bolster university applications.
The announcement, made on 17 April by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, comes amid stark data showing that one third of schools in England have never had a pupil apply to medical school, and around half have never had a student accepted. The government said that careers in medicine are often out of reach for disadvantaged young people because schools and families frequently lack the knowledge needed to guide students towards the profession or to encourage the study of sciences early enough.
Breaking the 'class ceiling'
Mr Streeting, who grew up in poverty on a council estate before attending Cambridge University, said: "Talent is everywhere in our country, but opportunity isn't. I don't want the NHS denied the talents and potential of the doctors, nurses and staff of the future, simply because they are never given a chance." He added: "We're determined to break the class ceiling in the NHS so that our professions are elite, not elitist."
The measures form part of the government's broader 10 Year Health Plan and include a commitment to expand or reallocate medical school places so that areas with poorer health outcomes or ageing populations can train more doctors locally. Students from under-represented backgrounds will be able to apply to the new access courses from spring 2027, with delivery supported by NHS England and partners including the Sutton Trust, Social Mobility Foundation and Medical Schools Council. The government said existing partnerships funded by NHS England have already seen around 75 per cent of participating students go on to study medicine or related degrees.
To address the financial burden faced by trainee doctors from disadvantaged backgrounds, the government will also trial a three-year pilot programme allowing resident doctors to remain in one location for longer, reducing relocation costs and disruption to family life. The nursing apprenticeships will be delivered through partnerships between NHS trusts, higher education institutions and local training providers, with deprived communities given priority.
Wider support for NHS entry-level roles
Alongside the headline measures, £15 million in government funding will expand a programme supporting around 3,000 young people from deprived communities into NHS entry-level roles or training for essential back-office positions. In the programme's first year, nearly 3,500 people were offered pathways into the health service.
Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said the investment in apprenticeships would "help us build the skilled nursing workforce the NHS needs, while supporting social mobility". Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said there remained "too many talented young people who don't pursue careers in healthcare because they feel those paths aren't open to them", and highlighted the reintroduction of maintenance grants for the most disadvantaged students as part of wider ambitions for two-thirds of young people to be on a gold-standard apprenticeship or at university by the age of 25.