THE health sector is booming but nurses and doctors are not the only workers forecast to benefit.

Those that indirectly support the sector – such as in sales and medical technology – are also set to experience increasing demand.

SEEK research reveals the healthcare and medical industry was among the fastest growing in 2017 with job opportunities increasing by 11.1 per cent. About 14,000 new roles were advertised during the year.

Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation roles grew the strongest, with advertisements up 2.1 per cent – followed by psychology, counselling and social work roles (1.9 per cent), aged care nursing roles (1.6 per cent) and general practitioner roles (0.8 per cent).

Dan Hobson, director of Hobson Health Recruitment, said the ageing population is having a huge effect on the healthcare system.

“It’s not only aged care facilities that are experiencing growth,” he said.

“More people are choosing to age at home and this means they are accessing community healthcare.”

He said as people are living longer, they are more focused on living well and this may also be contributing to demand for ancillary health services, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation.

The knock-on effects of health services demand can be felt in areas ranging from science to sales.

Federal Government figures forecast 1100 more medical laboratory scientists and 1300 more pharmacy sales assistants will be needed in the five years to May, 2022.

Stryker South Pacific and APAC Medical senior director of human resources Erin Cramlet said employment growth extends to medical technology companies.

“As an industry, we have been seeing this growth for many years and we don’t expect it to slow down anytime soon,” she said.

“We see our market primed for future innovation and growth.”

Stryker’s sales and clinical consulting staff are from a variety of backgrounds, including physiotherapy, engineering and athletics.

“We train our people on our products and the industry to ensure they are set up for success,” Cramlet said.

“You don’t need to have a specific background to be successful at Stryker. You just need to be passionate about being part of a team that improves lives, as well as driven to win the right way.”

Amy Chapman made the switch from playing professional football – including for the Matildas and Brisbane Roar – to pursue a career in healthcare and medical technology.

Ironically, it was her three knee reconstructions that gave her this new passion.

“I’m a territory manager for neurosurgery and craniomaxillofacial products so essentially a clinical specialist for the equipment used in those specialties,” she said.

“A standard day is ensuring the safe and effective use of Stryker products in hospitals and includes running training and education programs for healthcare workers.

“It’s a very unique industry and getting to be at the forefront of medical technology is the most exciting part.”

Chapman had a Bachelor of Science but was given extensive training for the role.

“Having a general interest is a great start because that makes every bit of learning not feel like a job,” she said.

TOP 5 HEALTH AREAS WHERE JOBS ARE GROWING

PHYSIOTHERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND REHABILITATION
There were about 1700 roles advertised on SEEK last week within this occupational group. It had the largest number of job ads within the healthcare and medical job category.

NURSING
There were about 890 roles for general medical and surgical nurses advertised on SEEK last week – as well as about 330 for community, maternal and child health nurses, 330 for accident and emergency, critical care and ICU nurses and 40 for high-acuity nurses.

AGED CARE NURSING
About 1620 aged care nurses were sought via SEEK last week. Federal Government projections show demand for aged and disability carers will remain strong with 77,500 more forecast to be needed between 2017 and 2022.

DENTAL
Workers in this sector of the healthcare and medical industry are also sought, with about 1000 roles advertised on SEEK last week. Federal Government research predicts “very strong” job growth for dental practitioners, and “stable” growth for dental assistants.

PSYCHOLOGY, COUNSELLING AND SOCIAL WORK
SEEK advertised about 940 roles for these workers last week.

Job growth for all three professions is predicted to be “very strong”.