The UK Government has published its new Life Sciences Jobs Plan, setting out how government, industry, education providers, and other partners will work together over the next three years to address workforce pressures across the sector.

The plan is intended to strengthen the domestic skills pipeline, improve routes into life sciences careers, help businesses access training, and support the creation of high-quality jobs across the UK. For BHTA members, the most relevant measures are those focused on medtech skills, recruitment, apprenticeships, and support for small and medium-sized businesses.

How the Jobs Plan fits into wider government policy

The Jobs Plan supports the Industrial Strategy commitment to publish sector-specific workforce plans for priority growth sectors. It sits alongside the Life Sciences Sector Plan, the 10 Year Health Plan for England, and wider reforms to skills, employment, and migration.

Government analysis estimates that the life sciences sector will require around 66,000 additional workers in priority occupations between 2025 and 2035. A further 52,000 workers are expected to leave those occupations over the same period, creating substantial replacement demand alongside new job growth.

The plan is structured around four pillars: improving sector coordination, skills, hiring, and good jobs. Across these areas, the government proposes closer collaboration with employers, more responsive training provision, wider entry routes, and stronger support for recruitment and workforce development.

Medtech-specific measures and opportunities

According to the Office for Life Sciences’ Bioscience and Health Technology Sector Statistics 2023 to 2024, medical technology accounted for around 55 percent of the life sciences sector’s approximately 360,000 jobs.

The plan identifies skills pressures that closely match the needs of medtech businesses, particularly in engineering, manufacturing, regulation, quality assurance, product testing, software, data, and commercialisation. It also highlights low awareness of careers in medtech, engineering, regulation, and manufacturing, making careers outreach a stated priority.

Other proposals are not limited to medtech but could directly benefit BHTA members.

From August 2026, the UK Government will fully fund training costs for apprentices aged 16 to 24 at non-levy-paying employers. From October 2026, those employers will also be able to claim a £2,000 payment for each new apprentice in that age group. The Employer Support Fund will continue through the 2026 to 2027 financial year to help SMEs meet the essential costs of hosting T Level industry placements.

Apprenticeship brokerage pilots in selected mayoral areas will also begin from late 2026, helping SMEs find candidates and navigate the system. Eligible employers may be able to use the £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant or the Jobs Guarantee for entry-level technical and support roles. Short apprenticeship units, Skills Bootcamps, and modular study through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement are intended to support upskilling in digital, data, engineering, and management.

The Jobs Plan’s wider commitment to employer-led course design and closer links between local clusters, colleges, universities, and businesses may provide routes to shape future medtech training provision.

Next steps for BHTA members

The Jobs Plan sets the direction for workforce policy over the next three years, but much of its impact will depend on how individual programmes are implemented. BHTA members may wish to review their future skills needs, identify roles that could be supported through apprenticeships or modular training, and consider opportunities to contribute to careers outreach, placements, and regional skills initiatives.

On 26 November 2025, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented the Autumn Budget, setting out measures that will affect healthcare and assistive technology businesses across the UK. Below, the BHTA outlines the announcements most relevant to members.

Tendo has also summarised the key announcements from the Budget on behalf of the BHTA. Download Tendo’s overview here.

National Minimum Wage increases

From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage will rise from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour. The National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase from £10 to £10.85.

BHTA recognises the importance of supporting lower-income workers; however, these increases may place additional financial strain on members, particularly smaller companies and those working under fixed-price contracts with the NHS and local authorities, where there is little scope to recover these costs.

Changes to business rates

From 1 April 2026, business rates bills in England will be updated following a 2026 revaluation. The small business multiplier will fall to 43.2p, and the standard multiplier to 48p, in 2026–27.

The government will also introduce two permanently lower retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) multipliers for eligible properties with rateable values below £500,000, set at 38.2p for the small business rate and 43p for the standard rate. A high-value multiplier of 50.8p will apply to properties with rateable values of £500,000 and above.

To help businesses adjust, Transitional Relief caps will limit annual increases in bills, with lower caps for smaller properties and higher caps for larger ones. For example, properties with rateable values up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London) will see increases capped at 5 percent in 2026–27, while properties over £100,000 could see rises of up to 30 percent before tapering down.

Additional support will include a one-year Transitional Relief supplement of 1p for ratepayers not receiving Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business scheme. From April 2026, the 2026 Supporting Small Business scheme will cap bill increases for the smallest businesses losing small business rates relief or rural rate relief at £800 or the relevant transitional cap, and will support those losing RHL relief for three years. The 2023 Supporting Small Business scheme will be extended for one year in 2026–27.

Most BHTA members are likely to see some increase in business rates from April 2026. The greatest impact is expected for members operating large warehouses, manufacturing sites, distribution centres, or high-value premises where revaluations are likely to push bills higher. Retail-focused members with premises below £500,000 may benefit from the lower RHL multipliers, and smaller businesses losing existing reliefs will receive some protection through the Supporting Small Business schemes.

Apprenticeship funding for SMEs

The Chancellor announced £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy to support apprenticeships, including a commitment to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people under 25.

This represents an opportunity for BHTA members to bring in new talent and support the development of the healthcare and assistive technology workforce. The BHTA welcomes this investment in skills, particularly as many members have reported sustained cost pressures in recent years.

Electric Vehicle Excise Duty

From April 2028, a new mileage-based Electric Vehicle Excise Duty will require electric and plug-in hybrid drivers to pay per mile alongside standard Vehicle Excise Duty. Electric cars will pay half the petrol and diesel rate, and plug-in hybrids will pay half of the electric rate. The government will also provide 100 percent business rates relief for 10 years on separately assessed electric vehicle charging points and electric vehicle-only forecourts.

For BHTA members using electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, the new duty will increase running costs, particularly for high-mileage or multi-vehicle fleets. Members investing in charging points may benefit from the 10-year business rates relief on charging infrastructure.

The BHTA’s response

David Stockdale, Chief Executive of the British Healthcare Trades Association, said: “For our members, this Budget is a mixed picture.

“The uplift to the National Living Wage, the commitment to fully fund SME apprenticeships, and some targeted business rates relief are positive in principle, but they sit alongside higher wage bills, rising rates for many industrial sites, and ongoing uncertainty in the wider health and care system.

“Ahead of the Autumn Budget we called for fair and sustained investment in community equipment and wheelchair services, greater funding for home adaptations, and the removal of VAT on public access defibrillators. None of these priorities have been addressed; in particular, the failure to scrap VAT on defibrillators is a missed opportunity to support thousands of local fundraising groups and make lifesaving equipment more affordable in communities across the UK.

“We will continue to work with ministers, officials, and parliamentarians to press for fair funding, a sustainable commissioning model, and the removal of barriers such as the defibrillator tax so that BHTA members can keep delivering the products and services that people rely on every day.”