Managers and senior officials as well as professional occupations (including doctors) are forecast to grow faster by 2014 than associate professional and technical occupations, and the personal services occupations. 

Total requirement is in excess of 60% of current employment levels for managers and senior officials, plus professional occupations.  These occupational groups are forecast to grow strongly over the next decade in both levels and shares of total employment in the sector.

To replace staff leaving the sector due to retirement and other reasons, recruitment will be approximately 45% of current staffing levels for associate professional and technical staff, and 66% for managers and senior managers.

A significant occupational shift is expected over the next 10-15 years to achieve a more flexible workforce.  For example:

• more tasks will be delegated from doctors to nurses, then nurses to health care assistants
• continuing changes in the overall career structure have been needed to accommodate newly created job roles and to facilitate career development.
• the introduction of two new levels: associate health professionals (extended roles for health care assistants) and advanced practitioners (extended roles mainly for degree level trained non-medical staff)
• decline in demand for nurses and degree level trained non-medical staff
• increase demand for associate health care professionals
• more public health specialists will be needed to deliver the public health agenda 

Source: Working Futures 2006, Skills for Health 2006 and Skills for Health 2005

For more data on total workforce requirements by occupation see: