Step into Health is supporting the Armed Forces community
Each year, approximately 15,000 Regular personnel leave the Forces, bringing with them a wealth of transferable skills and values relevant to civilian roles. Step into Health promotes the NHS as the employer of choice and highlights the many roles, both non-clinical and clinical, which are suited to members of the community.
In late 2025, Apteligen carried out a research project on behalf of NHS Employers, to review Step into Health’s progress since 2020. The project combined surveys of candidates and employers, programme monitoring data, and interviews with participants to understand achievements and areas for improvement.
It was found that organisational confidence in recruiting from the Armed Forces community has stayed high. However, practice varies widely between trusts, reflecting differing levels of leadership engagement, capacity and local infrastructure.
By working together with local employers, we can ensure that members of the Armed Forces community find not just a pathway, but a place in the NHS.
Five actions for employers
- Pledge to Step into Health – make a public commitment to support the recruitment of members of the Armed Forces community into the NHS
- Expand placements and insight days to help candidates gain hands‑on experience, to improve readiness and conversion.
- Offer guaranteed interviews when Armed Forces candidates meet essential criteria, giving candidates fair access and improving transparency.
- Give us feedback on our guidance and tools around transferable military skills and qualifications [link], to make sure they are practical for local recruitment.
- Embed Step into Health activity in trust workforce plans and inclusion strategies.
