Horizon 2035 – future demand for skills: initial results

This report outlines the interim findings from Horizon 2035, a piece of work which aims to consider how a series of challenges and opportunities may combine in the future and impact the health, public health and social care workforce. It finds that based on our current understanding, we are projecting that demand for health and care skills could grow more than twice as fast as overall population growth by 2035. Much of this growth is driven by increasing healthcare and support demands associated with long term conditions. This relates both to the ageing population and a projected increase in prevalence across age groups. The initial results also suggest that the future profile of demand may be profoundly different to the picture of demand today. For example, growth in demand for lower ‘levels’ of skill – such as those associated with unpaid care, support carers and NHS bands 1-4 – are projected to substantially outstrip growth in demand for higher skill levels associated with medical and dental professionals.