North East Health and Life Sciences Sector Careers Toolkit

Gatsby Good Careers Guidance Benchmark links:

Health and life sciences is a sector of strategic importance to the North East economy, presenting an opportunity to drive economic growth and deliver more and better jobs. Building upon our exceptional health and life science assets, and strengths in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership have outlined an ambition to double the number of jobs and businesses within the sector by 2030. 

In 2022 the North East LEP conducted research in partnership with pharmaceutical manufacturing and life sciences employers across the region, to identify the skills and roles in most demand by employers, and mapped different careers pathways into these key roles. You can find out more here.

This toolkit aims to support secondary school teachers to link careers in the North East health and life sciences sector to the Maths, English, and Science KS3 and KS4 curriculum. The toolkit focusses on three growing, or high employment areas within the North East health and life sciences sector, highlighting a range of job roles, skills, and routes into careers.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing

North East England is a major centre for pharmaceutical manufacturing with companies across our region making a vital contribution to the supply of essential medicines across the world and responding in the global effort to diagnose, treat, and prevent COVID 19.

In 2020 over 3000 people were employed in pharmaceutical manufacturing across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham and this number is continuing to grow.

These resources have been designed to be used as starter/plenary sessions for subject lessons, connecting to relevant topics within the scheme of work or related subject specific skills. There are links to additional resources or optional extension activities which could support a full careers lesson if desired.

Life sciences

The North East is home to international academic research expertise in health and life sciences. This culture of innovation partnered with the clinical research expertise within our outstanding NHS hospital trusts has led to the development of thriving cluster of life sciences businesses across our region, which in 2020 employed over 2000 people.

Health and social care

The health and social care sector consists of organisations which provide healthcare or social care support to people.

Health is the largest employment sector in the North East employing around 128,000 people. Around 50,000 of these work in local NHS trust hospitals and clinics. The NHS alone has over 350 different job roles.

Around 81,000 people work in adult social care in the North East, as our population ages demand for these skills is increasing. In 2020/21 an average of 4,500 vacancies were being advertised in the region every day.