Step into the NHS Schools’ competition 2014/15 How to enter

Did you know… There is much more to working for the NHS than being a doctor or nurse. In fact, there are over 350 different careers available in the NHS. What’s more, it’s the largest employer in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world. The NHS employs more than 1.35 million people in England!

What’s this competition all about? It’s about thinking how you might let other young people know about the many different careers in the NHS. They include jobs in areas like speech therapy, art therapy, engineering, finance, human resources and even gardening! Every employee is part of the NHS team which helps to make a difference to people’s lives every single day.

Your brief To promote a specific career in the NHS by creating a range of recruitment materials, which appeal to students of your age group. You can enter as an individual or as a group of up to four people.

Prepare! Take the personality quiz at to see which career would suit you best. There are 66 different careers to find out about! Information about the all the 350 plus different careers is available at Extend your search to find out as much as you can about other careers that are available too. Visit for more information on the competition and downloadable materials.

Choose a career Select a career that you find interesting from all the ones you have researched. Try to choose a career that is different to the ones chosen by other members of your class. You can then discuss the different roles between you and start to understand how different people in the NHS work as part of a team.

Extend your research Conduct further research into the job you have chosen. You should extend your research as far as possible. Here are some other useful links to help you:

Prepare your competition entry For the job you have chosen, you will need to create two recruitment materials: 1.A job advertisement AND 2.A job description

A job advert for the role In which media would you choose to advertise? For example, will your advertisement be a piece of film, a poster or a presentation? Who is the target audience? How will you make this role sound interesting to young people? Your advert should be creative, fun and lively. Please avoid using copyrighted materials, for example music on videos and websites.

A job description for the role Think about the role and key responsibilities. What knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications are required? What personality would suit the job best? Example job descriptions are included on the enclosed CD- ROM and online at

What are the judges looking for? 1.Job advertisement fun, lively and appealing to your age group creative and original understanding of chosen career. 2.Job description creative understanding of role and what it involves understanding of entry routes to chosen career, for example knowledge, skills, experience and relevant qualifications required clear structure and presentation.

Submitting your entry You must send in a completed entry form with your work. Please make sure you complete all sections fully. The closing date for the competition is 30 January 2015.

Things to include To support your entry, you can include images, storyboards, mood boards and other materials. Please make sure every piece of paper you attach is clearly marked with your details.

How will the winners be decided? A panel of experienced judges will meet to decide on the winners: One winner will be chosen from each of the ten regions around the country. One of these will be selected as the overall national winner.

What can you win? National winner The winning individual, or each member of the winning group, will receive a tablet computer and a certificate. Ten regional winners A £50 Amazon voucher and a certificate will be awarded to the winning individual or each member of the winning group. Highly commended We will select a number of highly commended entries and each member of the group will receive a certificate.

Good luck!