The National Health Service is a massive employer. It can accommodate staff in a huge range of jobs, from secretarial to surgical and a whole raft of medical and support services. Yet there are nowhere near enough people coming forward to fill the many vacancies.

In West Yorkshire alone, according to the latest available statistics, in March there were 211 vacancies for qualified nurses and 73 for medical and dental staff. And 61 of the posts going begging were for consultants.

It is because insufficient people apply for posts in the NHS, or have taken the trouble to acquire the qualifications needed for them, that Britain is now having to recruit doctors and nurses from overseas - and that some patients are having to wait longer than they should do for treatment.

It is a far-from-ideal arrangement. Far better, surely, for recruitment to be from the pool of skills available in this country. And better still for it to be on a local basis, to more accurately reflect the make-up of the local community.

The Positive Images recruitment scheme launched in Bradford after a successful two-month trial is a laudable attempt to create a home-grown NHS workforce.

By explaining to young people in the district, in their schools and community groups, the type of jobs which are available in the NHS, which qualifications they will need to be able to do them, and how to go about applying for them, they should help to plug gaps in the staffing levels while at the same time setting Bradford youngsters on the path to a worthwhile career.