Health careers

The health sector plays a crucial role in the Scottish economy. Whilst NHS Scotland is Scotland’s largest employer; a career in the Health sector can also mean working in the private sector, an exciting opportunity for young people to support world-leading developments and technology used in healthcare.

The NHS Scotland workforce has a significant role to play in the delivery of quality services to meet the needs of patients, their families, and the general public in a modern health service. Staffing also accounts for a large proportion of the NHS Scotland budget: for the year ending 31 March 2023 employment accounted for 69.4% or £6.2 billion of hospital costs.

To give you a window into health career pathways, we’ve pulled together some of the key websites, facts and reports into one place.

Facts

  • In 2024, there were around 267,000 people working in healthcare across Scotland. 
  • Between 2024 and 2027, it’s expected there will be 29,900 people needed to fill job openings.
  • The nursing and midwifery staff group is the largest in NHS Scotland, accounting for 41.7% of the workforce.
  • Employment of medical and dental staff increased to 15,724 in March 2024.
  • The number of allied health professionals employed in NHS Scotland is 14,028.
  • Photography brand Canon has a team in Edinburgh with more than 120 engineers, scientists and clinical experts working to deliver world-leading software and technology used in hospitals.

Key Websites

Reports

Resources