ANDREW FOSTER
director of workforce, NHS
“Many people still imagine that the NHS is made up of just doctors and nurses, but there are more than 300 different NHS careers: from immunologists to IT specialists and from dentists to dietitians.
Improving the health and wellbeing of people is a rewarding career and the massive investment in the NHS is transforming services as well as making the NHS a better place to work.
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There are real benefits to a career in healthcare: pay that is increasingly related to people’s skills and commitment, an excellent pension scheme, lifelong investment in education and training with bursaries for healthcare students, and accommodation support in areas where housing costs are high.
The NHS is also committed to becoming a first-class employer and improving the working lives of its staff. Staff can work flexibly and there is childcare support to help parents to reconcile the challenges of work and home life. We support career breaks and offer ‘return to work’ pathways. There are development opportunities for all staff, enabling them to realise their full potential, whatever their educational background.
A truly national health service must also strive to reflect the many different communities it serves. We make positive efforts to attract staff from diverse backgrounds and to ensure that all staff are treated fairly.”
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MARY DOHERTY
director of teacher recruitment, Teacher Training Agency
“Teaching really can be an invigorating and stimulating career. You ‘use your head’ in more ways than one. You build a rapport with pupils and, together, you make learning happen. You meet intellectual challenges, think on your feet and pitch your communication to a wide range of different needs. You also have the opportunity to use your creativity — the national curriculum sets out what to teach, but you decide how to teach it. You can make the lesson memorable using your unique ideas.
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The postgraduate teacher- training route has a £6,000 training bursary and ‘golden hello’ for those who train to teach the priority subjects such as maths, science and modern languages. Starting salaries are at least £18,558 and the pay scale for good, experienced classroom teachers rises to £29,385. There are plenty of opportunities to progress.”
JONATHAN EVANS
head of human resources, Westminster City Council
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“Heading up HR for Westminster City Council is a task comparable to anything in the private sector. The breadth, depth and complexity of the demands faced in this role outrank anything I have encountered before. The rewards of helping to make a difference to London, one of the world’s major cities, outstrip any traditional executive incentives.
Anybody contemplating a move into local government must eradicate any stereotypical views and look at what is really on offer. Where else will give you an opportunity to tackle issues affecting some of the most vulnerable people? Where else will allow you to develop solutions that will make a tangible difference to people’s lives? Local government demands unrivalled intellectual versatility. Where else can you manage some of the largest outsourced contracts anywhere in the country, then switch instantly to confronting the problem of a shortage of planners?
Above all, where else is every decision you make in the public spotlight? Local government offers you everything you can get elsewhere — and more.”
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RODNEY BROOKE
chairman, General Social Care Council
“People who choose to work in the social care sector do so because they want to help others to improve their lives. They give practical help and support to individuals and families to help them to handle the everyday things that others take for granted. One of the most rewarding things about working in the social care sector is seeing people live their lives.
People working in the sector provide services to a wide range of people, including children and families, older people and people with physical or learning disabilities. They must be able to build relationships with people of all ages and backgrounds and learn to overcome barriers to communication, which may arise from language differences, emotional problems or disability. Having an open mind is also important.
No matter what age you are, or what qualifications you have, there’s a job for you somewhere in social care. But having a meaningful job doesn’t mean you can’t have a rewarding career. You are given training in the skills you need and there are opportunities to get qualifications such as NVQs.
Some social care workers decide to study to become social workers, taking a degree in social work approved by the General Social Care Council, which combines theoretical, analytical and practical elements. Students gain invaluable practical experience by completing a minimum of 200 days on placements.
Soon all social workers will also have to be registered, which will put social work on a par with other professions in the health and social care field and increase public confidence in the sector.”
DAVID WILLIAMS
director of personnel, West Midlands Police
“There are many reasons why people find working for a public sector organisation, especially the police force, attractive.
We have multiple and highly varied roles within our organisation — our workers often say that no two days are the same.
West Midlands Police has an excellent track record in recruiting people from our very diverse regional community. Six hundred police officers join the 13,000-strong workforce each year.
We have a strong commitment to diversity and equality, with the highest percentage of female officers in the country as well the highest police service representation from minority groups.
We provide the best of equipment and training for our police officers and staff. The size of our organisation means that there are considerable opportunities for those seeking promotion.
Working for the police in the West Midlands offers benefits, including free local transport, preferential mortgage schemes, health and car insurance and free legal services. Additionally, the police officer and staff pension schemes are based on final salary and offer financial security beyond retirement.
This is an organisation which strives daily to ensure the area becomes a safer place to live and work.”
JOANNA WOOTTEN
workforce project manager, National Council of Voluntary Organisations
“The modern voluntary sector has a well-motivated paid workforce. One employee in 50 in the UK works for charities. There is a lot more to the sector than volunteering, although unpaid work still forms a crucial aspect of the sector’s role. It now enjoys unprecedented levels of influence over the public policy agenda and delivers services to the most vulnerable in our society.
The diversification of the voluntary sector workforce has been accompanied by an improvement in charities’ employment practices and working conditions. It is becoming increasingly common for charities to offer benefits such as pensions, flexible working arrangements and childcare allowance. Surveys of pay in the sector suggest that the pay gap between charities and other sectors is closing. Many voluntary organisations, particularly those carrying out activities previously undertaken by local authorities, link pay to established pay scales.
People’s primary motivation for wanting to work for a charity is still their belief in the objectives of the organisation they want to join, but competitive remuneration packages, the profile of the sector and the fact that the workforce is becoming more professional now also make it a smart career move. In ten years, working in the voluntary sector has changed enormously. Now school leavers, graduates, civil servants and company directors can all seriously consider a career in the voluntary sector.”