As the nation looks to the future and its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Worcester has committed to doing all it can to help its region, people and the wider country get back on its feet.

Throughout this difficult period, the university has sought out ways to provide help and support, whether through sending all of its health equipment to the local hospital, offering accommodation to health professionals, or by rallying volunteers to join the national effort. Our students and staff have been helping to bolster the national workforce, stepping up when they were most needed.

From the nurses and midwives in our hospitals, the social workers, paramedics, physiotherapists and occupational therapists in our communities, to the teachers and Early Years’ workers in our schools and nurseries, the University of Worcester trains the professionals who are the backbone of our society. 

Going forward the university will continue to play its part, including through this vital education of those professionals who have been working on the frontline, and by offering re-skilling opportunities for the many hundreds of thousands of people abruptly displaced from their industries by the pandemic.

The work of health professionals is rightly valued very highly throughout society. This has become even more the case through the pandemic as is evident to all, and demand for healthcare and health professionals is growing fast.

It is widely known that there is an acute shortage of qualified nurses in England– at least 44,000 pre Covid-19 – many more now. The government has already pledged to increase nurse numbers by 50,000 during this parliament.

At Worcester, we educate many hundreds of outstanding nurses each year, with opportunities to study across three pathways – adult, child and mental health. Our nurses are some of the most sought after in the country, with outstanding graduate employment rates.

In addition, the university offers the chance to train as a nursing associate and physician associate, among many other healthcare professions and is currently working towards the creation of the Three Counties Medical School.

The university also educates hundreds of teachers every year, who go on to make an important contribution to the schools across our region. We know that there are many parents and guardians who, during lockdown, have discovered a newfound admiration for teachers. There are others who have found a new vocation to become a teacher. We want to help those people, and many others, to realise their potential and to become the outstanding teachers our children and young people need. From the three-year Primary Initial Teacher Education programme to the Postgraduate Certificate in Education in a range of course areas, Worcester offers those wanting to enter the teaching profession the chance to find the right course for them.

There are also opportunities for those wishing to get into growth industries; the university’s digital media courses provide excellent training for work in website and application design; and the university’s world-leading approach to inclusion provides a professional foundation for working in the fast growing health and wellbeing industry, as well as in sport and physical education.

If you are thinking about a new career and are interested in finding out more about the range of courses on offer at the University of Worcester, including a range of postgraduate opportunities, visit the website: www.worcester.ac.uk

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