jobfacts

Occupational therapist

Occupational therapists — SOC 2020 2222

Occupational therapists work with people who have a physical or learning disability or mental illness, actively engaging them in purposeful activities in order to maximise self-confidence, independent functioning and well-being.

Also calledPaediatric occupational therapistCommunity occupational therapist
Typical full-time pay£44,0002025 Provisional
People in the job56,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month1,500↓ 33%on last year · 133rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time occupational therapists earn between £36,600 and £49,200 a year.

What full-time occupational therapists earn, 2025
£44,000 typical£31,400lowest 10%£36,60025%£50,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£36,600–£49,200)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£31,400
Lowest 20% earn less than£34,800
25%£36,600
Median£44,000
75%£49,200
Top 20% earn more than£50,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £44,000
London!£52,500
Wales!£45,900
North West£45,000
Scotland!£42,500
East Midlands!£40,900
West Midlands!£40,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£39,600
South East!£39,500
South West!£38,200
East of England!£36,900
North East!£34,800
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £44,000
London£52,500 (small sample)
Wales£45,900 (small sample)
North West£45,000
Scotland£42,500 (small sample)
East Midlands£40,900 (small sample)
West Midlands£40,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£39,600 (small sample)
South East£39,500 (small sample)
South West£38,200 (small sample)
East of England£36,900 (small sample)
North East£34,800 (small sample)
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £37,400
  • 2024 £40,100
  • 2025 Provisional£44,000
↑ 18% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,500 jobs for occupational therapists are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,364
Jul 20261,379
Jun 2026Not published
May 20261,457
Apr 20261,471
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,490
Jan 20261,517
Dec 2025814
Nov 20251,638
Oct 20251,743
Sept 20251,865
Aug 20251,847
Jul 20252,021
Jun 20251,931
May 20252,297
Apr 20252,089
Mar 20252,304
Feb 20252,412
Jan 20252,609
Dec 20241,739
Nov 20242,491
Oct 20242,327
Sept 20242,158
Aug 20242,127
Jul 20242,353
Jun 20242,293
May 20242,625
Apr 20242,696
Mar 20242,321
Feb 20242,442
Jan 20242,785
Dec 20232,348
Nov 20232,657
Oct 20232,481
Sept 20232,498
Aug 20232,324
Jul 20232,942
Jun 20233,258
May 20232,767
Apr 20232,753
Mar 20233,426
Feb 20233,173
Jan 20233,302
Dec 20223,029
Nov 20223,641
Oct 20223,512
Sept 20223,117
Aug 20223,158
Jul 20223,301
Jun 20222,934
May 20223,317
Apr 20222,734
Mar 20223,362
Feb 20222,795
Jan 20223,045
Dec 20212,597
Nov 20212,941
Oct 20213,053
Sept 20212,630
Aug 20212,437
Jul 20212,964
Jun 20212,512
May 20212,631
Apr 20212,201
Mar 20212,914
Feb 20212,524
Jan 20212,958
Dec 20202,480
Nov 20202,531
Oct 20202,947
Sept 20202,374
Aug 20202,222
Jul 20202,377
Jun 20202,232
May 20202,116
Apr 20201,936
Mar 20202,413
Feb 20202,290
Jan 20202,343
Dec 20191,573
Nov 20192,319
Oct 20192,054
Sept 20191,907
Aug 20191,809
Jul 20192,021
Jun 20192,224
May 20192,153
Apr 20191,479
Mar 20191,834
Feb 20191,757
Jan 20191,898
Dec 20181,288
Nov 20181,800
Oct 20181,885
Sept 20181,685
Aug 20181,409
Jul 20181,560
Jun 20181,586
May 20181,502
Apr 20181,208
Mar 20181,584
Feb 20181,449
Jan 20181,721
Dec 20171,171
Nov 20171,736
Oct 20171,649
Sept 20171,417
Aug 20171,537
Jul 20171,353
Jun 20171,624
May 20171,568
Apr 20171,451
Mar 20171,629
Feb 20171,406
Jan 20171,593
Is there a shortage of occupational therapists?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
31%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for health professionals, which includes occupational therapists. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,087
Birmingham117
Liverpool78
Manchester76
South Gloucestershire58
Nottingham53
Leeds52
Cotswold51
Buckinghamshire49
West Suffolk46
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where occupational therapists are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 73 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from South Africa, India, Kenya, ranking it 112th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of occupational therapists
n/p
26%!
22%!
32%!
19%!
0.7%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3426% (small sample)
35–4422% (small sample)
45–5432% (small sample)
55–6419% (small sample)
65+0.7% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent93%
Higher education below degree!5.1%
A levels or equivalent!1.4%
GCSEs or equivalent–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent93%
Higher education below degree5.1% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent1.4% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalentNot published

Main employers: other human health activities (31%), hospital activities (30%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (21%), other social work activities without accommodation nec (3.7%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
93%
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
4 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You could do a degree in occupational therapy, approved by the Health and Care Professions Council.

Courses combine work placements with academic study.

You might be able to do a 2-year postgraduate conversion course if you've got a degree in a relevant subject like:

  • biological science
  • health science
  • psychology

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

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an Occupational Therapist Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This usually takes 4 years to complete and is a mix of training on the job and academic study at an approved university.

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 occupational therapy support worker.

With help from your employer, you could study for a degree part time, or complete a degree apprenticeship, to qualify as an occupational therapist.

Volunteering

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

What you’ll need

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

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 impact your role, if applying for work in the NHS.

Further information

You can find more about a career in occupational therapy from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and Health Careers.

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

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 6About 4 yearsDegree

Occupational therapist

You gain
BSc (Hons) degree in Occupational Therapy or Level 7 qualification approved by the…
Registration
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Employers may ask for
Typically 3 A levels or equivalent access qualifications
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

  • considers the physical, psychological and social needs of a patient that may result from illness, injury, congenital condition or lifestyle problems
  • devises, designs, initiates and monitors carefully selected and graded treatments and activities as part of the assessment and intervention process
  • liaises with a wide variety of other professionals in planning and reviewing ongoing treatments
  • trains students and supervises the work of occupational therapy assistants
  • makes home visits to clients, families and carers to organise support and rehabilitation and assist them to deal and cope with disability
  • counsels clients in ways to promote a healthy lifestyle, prevention of illness and/or preparation for coping with increasing stages of illness
  • maintains patient records, manages caseloads

Skills

  • ensure safety of healthcare users
  • communicate effectively in healthcare
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • follow clinical guidelines
  • provide health education
  • work in multidisciplinary health teams
  • employ foreign languages in care
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • apply context specific clinical competences
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • deal with emergency care situations
  • develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
  • empathise with the healthcare user
  • interact with healthcare users

Knowledge

  • human physiology
  • human anatomy
  • neurology
  • orthopaedics
  • paediatrics
  • psychology
  • first aid
  • geriatrics

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health professionals, a group of 24 jobs that includes occupational therapists.
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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