jobfacts

Speech and language therapist

Speech and language therapists — SOC 2020 2223

Speech and language therapists are responsible for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of speech, language, fluency and voice disorders caused by disability, injury or illness.

Also calledSpecialist speech and language therapistLanguage therapistSpeech therapistCommunication therapist
Typical full-time pay£45,5002025 Provisional
People in the job19,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month813↓ 18%on last year · 209th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time speech and language therapists earn, 2025
£45,500 typical£35,80025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%£35,800
Median£45,500
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £45,500
London!£53,900
East of England!£36,100
North West!£35,200
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £45,500
London£53,900 (small sample)
East of England£36,100 (small sample)
North West£35,200 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £35,800
  • 2024 £37,700
  • 2025 Provisional£45,500
↑ 27% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 813 jobs for speech and language 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 2026646
Jul 2026745
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026746
Apr 2026856
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026824
Jan 2026913
Dec 2025483
Nov 2025916
Oct 2025965
Sept 20251,036
Aug 2025961
Jul 20251,095
Jun 2025965
May 20251,162
Apr 2025956
Mar 20251,087
Feb 20251,098
Jan 20251,084
Dec 2024794
Nov 2024999
Oct 2024870
Sept 2024891
Aug 2024815
Jul 2024955
Jun 20241,000
May 20241,177
Apr 20241,129
Mar 2024906
Feb 2024996
Jan 20241,192
Dec 2023930
Nov 20231,001
Oct 20231,007
Sept 2023930
Aug 2023950
Jul 20231,116
Jun 20231,306
May 20231,145
Apr 20231,065
Mar 20231,267
Feb 20231,296
Jan 20231,219
Dec 20221,070
Nov 20221,390
Oct 20221,363
Sept 20221,226
Aug 20221,231
Jul 20221,266
Jun 20221,234
May 20221,261
Apr 20221,028
Mar 20221,214
Feb 2022954
Jan 20221,164
Dec 2021868
Nov 20211,112
Oct 20211,140
Sept 2021992
Aug 20211,004
Jul 20211,287
Jun 20211,084
May 20211,070
Apr 2021902
Mar 20211,067
Feb 2021976
Jan 20211,212
Dec 20201,017
Nov 20201,002
Oct 20201,290
Sept 20201,110
Aug 2020960
Jul 2020911
Jun 20201,004
May 2020893
Apr 2020863
Mar 20201,009
Feb 2020940
Jan 2020947
Dec 2019736
Nov 2019965
Oct 2019898
Sept 2019798
Aug 2019744
Jul 2019869
Jun 2019929
May 2019932
Apr 2019669
Mar 2019841
Feb 2019750
Jan 2019840
Dec 2018484
Nov 2018800
Oct 2018869
Sept 2018854
Aug 2018665
Jul 2018698
Jun 2018699
May 2018664
Apr 2018611
Mar 2018668
Feb 2018668
Jan 2018766
Dec 2017497
Nov 2017631
Oct 2017618
Sept 2017590
Aug 2017718
Jul 20172,089
Jun 20171,535
May 20171,921
Apr 2017641
Mar 2017696
Feb 2017607
Jan 2017670
Is there a shortage of speech and language 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 not high.

  • 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 speech and language therapists. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London734
Birmingham67
South Gloucestershire48
Cornwall45
Cotswold38
Manchester37
Leeds35
Bristol, City of34
Liverpool31
North Yorkshire29
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where speech and language therapists are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 48 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, India, South Africa, ranking it 140th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of speech and language therapists
n/p
33%!
35%!
23%!
9%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3433% (small sample)
35–4435% (small sample)
45–5423% (small sample)
55–649% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent100%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent–
Not published
Show as table
Degree or equivalent100%
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalentNot published

Main employers: other human health activities (57%), hospital activities (17%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (14%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
100%
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'll need a degree in speech and language therapy approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).

If you've got a relevant degree, you could do a 2-year fast-track postgraduate course in speech and language therapy.

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 may be able to do a Speech and Language Therapist Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship will take around 4 years to complete.

If you already have a relevant degree it may be shorter and you may be able to get a master's qualification as part of the apprenticeship.

If you are working as a speech and language therapy assistant you might be able to apply to do the degree apprenticeship with your current employer. You would need to meet all their entry requirements for the apprenticeship.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) has more information on this apprenticeship.

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

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

For some roles you'll need to visit clients in their homes, so you'll need a driving licence.

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.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a speech and language therapist from:

  • Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
  • Health Careers

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for speech and language 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

Speech and language therapist

You gain
BSc (Hons) degree in Speech and language therapy or Level 7 qualification approved by…
Registration
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Employers may ask for
Typically, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will expect apprentices to have 3 A levels or an equivalent Access qualification. Some HEIs stipulate a…
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

  • assesses, tests and diagnoses a client’s condition
  • designs and initiates appropriate rehabilitation and/or remedial programmes of treatment
  • treats speech and language disorders by coaching and counselling clients or through the use of artificial communication devices
  • attends case conferences and liaises with other specialists such as doctors, teachers, social workers and psychologists
  • counsels relatives to help cope with the problems created by a patient’s disability
  • writes reports and maintains client caseloads

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • apply context specific clinical competences
  • apply health sciences
  • apply organisational techniques
  • communicate effectively in healthcare
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • contribute to continuity of health care
  • deal with emergency care situations
  • develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
  • educate on the prevention of illness
  • empathise with the healthcare user

Knowledge

  • audiology
  • audiometry
  • health care legislation
  • hearing loss
  • human anatomy
  • human physiology
  • hygiene in a health care setting
  • paediatrics

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 speech and language 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.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.