jobfacts

Paramedic

Paramedics — SOC 2020 2255

Paramedics provide first aid and life support treatment in emergency situations and transport sick and injured people who require skilled treatment.

Also calledAmbulance paramedicHART paramedicParamedic technicianEmergency care practitionerParamedic-ecp
Typical full-time pay£53,8002025 Provisional
People in the job38,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month188↓ 32%on last year · 349th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time paramedics earn between £45,500 and £60,900 a year.

What full-time paramedics earn, 2025
£53,800 typical£37,700lowest 10%£45,50025%£62,000top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£45,500–£60,900)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£37,700
Lowest 20% earn less than£41,200
25%£45,500
Median£53,800
75%£60,900
Top 20% earn more than£62,000
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £53,800
Scotland£61,400
London£60,800
East of England!£54,200
East Midlands!£51,700
South East!£47,700
Wales!£47,500
West Midlands!£47,000
Yorkshire and The Humber!£44,700
North East!£44,200
North WestNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £53,800
Scotland£61,400
London£60,800
East of England£54,200 (small sample)
East Midlands£51,700 (small sample)
South East£47,700 (small sample)
Wales£47,500 (small sample)
West Midlands£47,000 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£44,700 (small sample)
North East£44,200 (small sample)
North WestNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £48,500
  • 2024 £54,300
  • 2025 Provisional£53,800
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 188 jobs for paramedics are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026152
Jul 2026157
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026199
Apr 2026164
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026173
Jan 2026232
Dec 2025147
Nov 2025237
Oct 2025225
Sept 2025197
Aug 2025244
Jul 2025265
Jun 2025204
May 2025275
Apr 2025226
Mar 2025292
Feb 2025242
Jan 2025348
Dec 2024268
Nov 2024282
Oct 2024255
Sept 2024362
Aug 2024339
Jul 2024366
Jun 2024366
May 2024346
Apr 2024417
Mar 2024313
Feb 2024315
Jan 2024365
Dec 2023338
Nov 2023317
Oct 2023321
Sept 2023291
Aug 2023329
Jul 2023400
Jun 2023470
May 2023347
Apr 2023340
Mar 2023448
Feb 2023431
Jan 2023442
Dec 2022440
Nov 2022431
Oct 2022393
Sept 2022370
Aug 2022328
Jul 2022360
Jun 2022316
May 2022403
Apr 2022281
Mar 2022400
Feb 2022364
Jan 2022373
Dec 2021303
Nov 2021316
Oct 2021321
Sept 2021235
Aug 2021297
Jul 2021379
Jun 2021297
May 2021309
Apr 2021283
Mar 2021327
Feb 2021304
Jan 2021285
Dec 2020272
Nov 2020278
Oct 2020287
Sept 2020257
Aug 2020223
Jul 2020217
Jun 2020253
May 2020204
Apr 2020238
Mar 2020315
Feb 2020288
Jan 2020303
Dec 2019204
Nov 2019257
Oct 2019276
Sept 2019287
Aug 2019212
Jul 2019280
Jun 2019218
May 2019223
Apr 2019192
Mar 2019244
Feb 2019237
Jan 2019202
Dec 2018158
Nov 2018144
Oct 2018154
Sept 2018156
Aug 2018173
Jul 2018167
Jun 2018137
May 2018136
Apr 2018113
Mar 2018105
Feb 2018129
Jan 2018143
Dec 201796
Nov 2017106
Oct 2017113
Sept 2017127
Aug 2017144
Jul 2017117
Jun 2017156
May 2017115
Apr 2017139
Mar 2017134
Feb 201792
Jan 2017125
Is there a shortage of paramedics?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hours worked.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
21%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other health professionals, which includes paramedics. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London67
Somerset18
Bedford13
Buckinghamshire12
Cherwell10
Birmingham10
Reading9
Reigate and Banstead9
Westmorland and Furness9
Wiltshire9
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where paramedics are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of paramedics
5.9%!
33%!
28%!
20%!
14%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–245.9% (small sample)
25–3433% (small sample)
35–4428% (small sample)
45–5420% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent66%
Higher education below degree!16%
A levels or equivalent!5.6%
GCSEs or equivalent!11%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent66%
Higher education below degree16% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent5.6% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent11% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other human health activities (70%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (11%), hospital activities (7.1%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
66%
as their highest qualification
Registration
HCPC
required to practise: Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Apprenticeships
1
from level 6, a degree apprenticeship
Apprenticeships take
3 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this work through:

University

You'll need to do a paramedic science degree approved by the Health and Care Professions Council.

Full-time courses usually take 3 years.

You may be able to get extra student financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including a science, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Paramedic Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This takes 3 years to complete and is a mix of on-the-job training and classroom learning.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could start as an ambulance care assistant or an emergency medical technician, also known as an associate ambulance practitioner (AAP).

With experience you could apply for a place on a paramedic training scheme. You would need to check the application and entry requirements with individual ambulance service trusts.

Volunteering

Entry to paramedic courses is very competitive and it may help you if you have some relevant experience or training. You could:

  • volunteer as a first responder with a charity or social enterprise, like St John Ambulance
  • volunteer with an NHS ambulance trust
  • work at a residential care home or day care centre
  • get a first aid certificate
  • work in an office-based job for an ambulance service

Volunteering in the NHS is also a good way to get work experience in healthcare. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.

Other routes

You could apply for a training scheme as a student paramedic with an ambulance service. You would study for a university paramedic qualification while working at the same time.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults
  • pass a medical check

Many ambulance services will expect you to have a full driving licence by the time you finish your training and preferably a C1 driving licence that allows you to drive medium-sized vehicles.

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need to register with the Health and Care Professions Council
Career tips

You would be expected to have an understanding of how the NHS values would apply in your work.

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the College of Paramedics and get access to courses, conferences and workshops to keep your skills up to date. You can also swap ideas with colleagues in the profession.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a paramedic from the College of Paramedics and Health Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for paramedic. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 6About 3 yearsDegree

Paramedic

You gain
Health and Care Professions Council approved BSc (Hons) Paramedic; Level 3 Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving Course. This is an Ofqual…
Registration
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Employers may ask for
Apprentices will have to meet the entry requirements set by the university and the employer and have a good command of English and maths.
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • drives ambulance or accompanies driver to respond to calls for assistance at accidents, emergencies and other incidents
  • assesses the nature of injuries, provides first aid treatment and ascertains appropriate method of conveying patient
  • resuscitates and/or stabilises patient using relevant techniques, equipment and drugs
  • transports and accompanies patients who either require or potentially require skilled treatment whilst travelling
  • briefs other medical staff when handing over the patient, and completes patient report forms describing the patient’s condition and any treatment provided

Skills

  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • apply organisational techniques
  • assess nature of injury in emergency
  • communicate effectively in healthcare
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • empathise with the healthcare user
  • listen actively
  • maintain order at scenes of accidents
  • operate an emergency communication system
  • operate specialised equipment in emergency
  • position patients undergoing interventions
  • provide first aid
  • tolerate stress

Knowledge

  • emergency cases
  • first aid
  • human anatomy
  • hygiene in a health care setting
  • medical dispatch
  • operational tactics for emergency responses
  • pathogenic microorganisms
  • pharmacology

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Helping and caring for people

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health professionals, a group of 24 jobs that includes paramedics.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 310,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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