'But university isn't right for every school-leaver and some young people want to start earning straight away, while others may decide on a career in health care later in life. Speaking to pupils at her former school, she said: “We know we need to increase training places in universities so more of our brightest and best can train to become doctors or nurses. Ms Pritchard said the staffing plan, which is expected in coming weeks, would set out “what the NHS needs over the coming years for its workforce to thrive”. Pay rates for the schemes have yet to be announced, with concern that less wealthy candidates could opt for the programme because they fear student debt, only to find their long-term earnings are overtaken by those on traditional training routes. The Doctors Association UK last year raised concerns that schemes could spark hostility between young doctors over clinical placements, if some are being paid for work that others are expected to do for nothing. The idea has been debated for several years, with some medics raising concerns that it could create a “two-tier system” with apprentice degrees seen as “lesser”. Normally, doctors’ training involves five years at medical school, with annual fees of around £10,000, before starting work as a junior doctor on a starting salary of around £29,000.Įxisting nursing apprenticeships, which allow recruits to earn on the ward during a four-year training course, are expected to be expanded under the scheme. Highlighting 124,000 current health service vacancies in England, she said the forthcoming plan offered a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity to put the NHS on a sustainable footing'. It is the centrepiece of a long-delayed NHS workforce strategy, following warnings that staff shortages in England could reach half a million without action to find new ways to train and recruit health workers.Īmanda Pritchard, the head of NHS England, said: “This radical new approach could see tens of thousands of school-leavers becoming doctors and nurses or other key healthcare roles, after being trained on the job over the next 25 years.'

A third of nurses are also expected to be trained under the 'radical new approach'. The apprenticeship scheme could allow one in 10 doctors to start work without a traditional medical degree, straight after their A-levels.

School leavers will be able to start working as doctors without going to university, under new NHS plans to fix the growing staff crisis.

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