Marvin OnumonuThe Government has announced 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships focused in regions with the greatest shortages.
A further 2,000 young people from deprived areas will get support to apply for medical courses, with £2.3m of funding.
There is also a pledge to increase the number of students on free school meals accepted into medical school by 50% in the next decade.
The package is part of the Government’s 10 year health plan.
It aims to open up careers in healthcare to thousands of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Research found that one third of schools have never had a pupil apply to medical school and about half have never had a student accepted.
The measures include supporting 2,000 young people from the poorest areas in England to apply to university through medicine access courses over the next three years.
The support will give them access to summer schools and NHS placements.
£65.4m will fund 2,000 extra nursing apprenticeships, mainly in regions with the greatest training shortages and highest deprivation.
The apprenticeships allow people to earn while they learn and stay in their communities.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, said: “Talent is everywhere in our country, but opportunity isn’t. I don’t want the NHS denied the talents and potential of the doctors, nurses and staff of the future, simply because they are never given a chance.
“Having grown up in poverty on a council estate, getting into Cambridge University changed my life.
“With the most working class cabinet in history, this government is determined to change the odds for young people today.”
Streeting added: “We’re determined to break the class ceiling in the NHS so that our professions are elite, not elitist.
“My message to the best and brightest young kids who want to a future caring for their country in the National Health Service is – go for it.
“By backing people from every background to train and work in the NHS, this will benefit patients, the NHS, and students.”
Students from under-represented backgrounds will be able to apply to courses from next spring, working with NHS England and partners like the Sutton Trust, Social Mobility Foundation and Medical Schools Council.
Existing partnerships funded by NHS England have seen about 75% of students applying go on to study medicine or related degrees.
Medical school places will be reallocated or expanded so that regions with poorer health outcomes or ageing populations can train more doctors locally.
The plan includes a 50% increase by 2035 in the proportion of students from free school meals backgrounds entering medical school.
A three-year pilot will support doctors from disadvantaged backgrounds by letting resident doctors stay in one place for longer, easing relocation costs and family disruption.
Chief Nursing Officer for England Duncan Burton, said: “Apprenticeships open up nursing careers to people with the skills, commitment, and compassion to care for patients, who may not have otherwise come forward for a career in the NHS.
“Investing in apprenticeships in this way will help us build the skilled nursing workforce the NHS needs, while supporting social mobility.”
Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith, said: “There are still too many talented young people who don’t pursue careers in healthcare because they feel those paths aren’t open to them.
“Aspiration and hard work should decide a young person’s future, and access to training for careers in medicine cannot remain just for the privileged few.
“We are reintroducing maintenance grants to support those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and to build towards our ambition for two-thirds of young people to be on a gold-standard apprenticeship or at university by age 25.”
