Competition Rates

In 2022 the Core Surgical Training competition rates for the UK was 3.7:1.

This means that for every 3.7 people that applied, 1 was successfully appointed to a Core Surgical Training post. 55% of  those that applied were invited to interview and 49% of those interviewed were successfully appointed.

There are roughly 550 Core Surgical Training (CST) posts available each year but this number can vary considerably. These jobs are divided up according to deaneries. Below summarises the Core Surgical Training Competition Rates over the last few years and the number of jobs advertised.

Application round	Ratio (applicants: successfully appointed)	Ratio (interviewed: successfully appointed)	% of applicants who were interviewed	% of those interviewed that were appointed
2018	3.3	2.8	85%	35%
2019	2.8	2.3	81%	44%
2020	4.0	2.4	59%	42%
2021	4.6	1.6	35%	63%
2022	3.7	2.0	55%	49%

These competition rates do not refer to the likelihood of being offered a job in your first choice deanery. Because certain deaneries are more competitive, applicants looking to secure jobs there will need to ensure that they score highly at the interview stage.

The annual change in the number of applicants and those successfully appointed following interview is shown in the graph below…

To sign up to the CoreSurgicalPrep mailing list and be the first to hear about our mock interview and updates for the 2022 application and interview round, click here.