Skills for Health
Skills for Health Regional Contact:
Andrew Harvey, Regional Director (NE)
Skills for Health
2 Brewery Wharf
Kendall Street
Leeds
LS10 1JR
T: 01274 532358
M: 07789 653173
Learning and Skills Council Contact: sue.thompson@lsc.gov.uk
Click here for the Skills for Health North East Fact Sheet
Skills for Health is the SSC for the health sector.
Overview of the Sector in the North East
Skills for Health is the SSC for the health sector.
The sector is dominated in terms of workforce numbers, by the NHS but the significance of the independent hospitals, nursing homes and independent practitioners and voluntary sub sectors is substantial. There is a large sub sector providing complementary and alternative medicine services. Health related activities also take place in other sectors, e.g. the Armed Forces, Prisons, Industry (Occupational health) and Education, but on a relatively small scale. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
The sector is important to the NE in terms of numbers employed. 92,065 people are employed in the sector with growth forecasted at 8% between 2002 and 2014. The sector share of total employment in the NE is 8.6% is higher than that for England as a whole (6.9%). (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Although the proportion of female workers in the NE (74%) is less than in England as a whole (78%) they still account for nearly three quarters of the workforce. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
The proportion of workforce with NVQ3+ or equivalent is 66%, slightly higher than for England as a whole (65%). (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
The proportion of non-white employees in the sector is low in the NE (5%), and is less than twice the proportion nationally (12%). (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
The age distribution of the workforce in the NE is similar to that of the sector nationally. 38% of employees in the NE were aged 45 years and above which is slightly less than the national proportion of 41%. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Key issues facing the sector now and in the future
The health sector is going through tremendous change which is being driven by significant developments in the economic, demographic and social conditions in which it operates and by radical changes in the scale and nature of the policy response to these developments. Improved and flexible service delivery at the front-line will require more efficient and effective use and deployment of a highly qualified workforce.
Health care policy is increasingly focused on strategies to recruit and retain staff through varied, wider and more innovative pathways, reform of pay to encourage skills escalation and development, and a greater dialogue between employers and providers of education and training for workforce planning.
These policy drivers are echoed by employer views on the future importance of vocational qualifications, reflecting growing acknowledgement within the sector that traditional routes to entry and progression within health organisations may have to give way to non-traditional, work-based and vocational pathways to some considerable extent if the necessary growth in the volume and quality of the overall workforce is to be maintained.
Currently it is suggested that the demand for all kinds of skills is expected to increase in the next 5 to 10 years, including generic skills, and ICT and leadership and management.
Employment Issues in the North East
Current and forecast recruitment demand (either for growth or replacement)
It is estimated that 92,000 people are employed in the sector in the NE with growth forecasted at 8% between 2002 and 2014 (Regional Fact Sheet 2005). However, there is a lack of publicly available data for the independent and voluntary sub sectors resulting in an underestimate of the actual workforce. The 92,000 figure is, therefore, a minimum only.
Recruitment difficulties and causes
Nationally over a quarter of employers in the sector reported vacancies. For instance, particular shortages in the NHS in the NE are in Cardiology, Plastic Surgery, Radiology, Theatre Nurses, Therapists, and Midwives.
Retention issues
Retaining staff in healthcare is a major issue and activities are underway to help address retention issues. These include Agenda for Change in the NHS (modernising pay), re-design of roles, introduction of the concept of a skills escalation across the sector linked to clearly defined career pathways and qualifications frameworks.
Attracting people into the sector
It is estimated that for the NHS to retain its numbers of frontline staff at current levels in five years time, it would have to recruit all school leavers into healthcare. Healthcare will be faced with demographic issues and high numbers retiring from the sector within five to ten years. Plans are being drawn up and implemented now to try to address the potential shortfall: Skills escalation; Widening participation by working closely with schools and the NHS ‘Return to Practice’ campaign all contribute to addressing recruitment issues.
Skill requirements of new recruits
Analysis of skills and qualifications held by people working in the sector shows that there is a distinct concentration at the top and bottom ends of a qualifications distribution graph. Nationally, 24% of staff have a degree (or equivalent) and the same proportion hold GCSE or equivalent. Currently 6% record no qualification.
Analysis of the trends implies that these concentrations will continue: NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework, Skills Escalation will see an increasing intake of workers qualified to Level 2/GCSE or above to then be developed and upskilled to work at higher levels.
Workforce Development in the North East
Skills shortages/gaps in existing workforce and latent skills issues
590 (45%) of NE firms reported vacancies. 401 firms (31%) reporting HTF vacancies. (Regional Fact Sheet from NESS 2003)
Nationally, just over a quarter of companies (26%) reported internal skill gaps. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005 from NESS 2003)
Learning and Skills Infrastructure in the North East
Businesses in this sector were less likely than businesses in England as a whole, to report a lack of suitable courses in their area as a barrier to undertaking staff training (14% compared with 17%). (Regional Fact Sheet 2005 from NESS 2003)
Relevance and quality of existing provision
Nationally, the proportion of firms that have provided funding for staff training within the previous 12 months was 85%. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005 from NESS 2003)
Lack of funding was a barrier for almost half (48%) of the NE employers followed by lack of time for training (41%) and lack of cover (37%). (Regional Fact Sheet 2005 frm NESS 2003)
Best Practice
NHS Skills Escalation
Skills Escalation is the workforce development strategy and programmes of work linking together Lifelong Learning, Recruitment and Retention, Pay Modernisation Role Development, Career Management and Recognising Achievement to deliver the objective of a growing and changing NHS workforce. Responsibility for the programme transferred from the Department of Health (England) to Skills for Health in 2004.
Skills escalation is about:
- Attracting a wide range of people to work within the NHS by offering a variety of entry points, career pathways and training “step on” and “step off” points
- Encouraging all staff, through a strategy of lifelong learning, to renew and extend their skills and knowledge, enabling them to transfer and progress in relation to personal preference, proven ability, future potential, and organisational and service needs
- Realising efficiencies and skill-mix benefits by role redesign, creating opportunities for work and responsibilities to be undertaken at the most appropriate level
- Learning activities ranging from helping to improve adult literacy and numeracy skills, through to management development programmes
- Modernising the framework(s) of qualifications and awards and the associated education and training provision
- Optimising transferability and ensuring that career development opportunities are available
In the past, the health service has been used to considering a workforce within the context of fixed boundaries that limited flexibility. These boundaries are now disappearing and in several areas cross-sector partnerships for skills escalation are becoming vital links to enable seamless, individually-centred care and strengthen public safety.
Important examples of these cross-sector relationships concern workforce development and planning for:
- Children and young people
- Health Improvement
- Mental Health
- Older people
- Health Infrastructure Management (e.g. Management, Administration, Information Management and Communications Technology, Customer Care, Support Services, Facilities Management)
The Skills for Health approach for this agenda is competence based.
NHS Agenda for Change and Knowledge and Skills Framework. (KSF)
From 2005, staff in the NHS will be paid on a new pay system, called Agenda for Change.
NHS Agenda for Change and Knowledge and Skills Framework. (KSF)
From 2005, staff in the NHS will be paid on a new pay system, called Agenda for Change.
The new pay system is based on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. It offers:
- Greater scope to create new jobs, bringing more patient-centred care and more varied and stimulating roles for NHS staff
- Fairer pay based on job evaluation
- Movement towards harmonised conditions of service for NHS staff
- Better links between career and pay progression
- The Agenda for Change pay system relates to all staff in the NHS, excluding Dentists, Doctors and very senior managers
The new pay system is divided into nine pay bands. There will be several pay points within each band. Each post is placed in the correct pay band using the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme, by either:
- Matching the post to an appropriate national job profile, or
- A local job evaluation
Many jobs have been evaluated nationally and can be used for matching posts to the new pay bands. These are available on the Department of Health website.
Within each band, there are a number of pay points. As staff successfully develop skills and knowledge, they will normally progress through one pay point each year, up to the maximum of the pay band. At two defined “gateway” points in each pay band, progression will be based in demonstrating the agreed knowledge and skills appropriate to that part of the pay band, using the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.
The NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet has been based on the following principles:
- Simple, easy to explain and understand
- Operationally feasible to implement
- Able to use and link with current and emerging competence frameworks
- UK and NHS-wide
- Supportive of the delivery of plans for the future development of the National Health Service in the four countries of the UK
The NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet, on which the development review process is based, is designed to:
- identify the knowledge and skills that individuals need to apply in their post
- help guide the development of individuals
- provide a fair and objective framework on which to base review and development for all staff
- provide the basis of pay progression in the service
The NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet and the accompanying process have been developed through a partnership approach between management and staff side representatives. This partnership approach is intended to continue as the NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet is used in development review, with managers working with individual members of staff to plan their training and development and review their work.
To help with the implementation of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet, Skills for Health have mapped all 2,000+ competences across to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet. Skills for Health have also developed a suite of electronic tools to enable users to find more easily the appropriate competences, skills and knowledge for their jobs and therefore the link with the NHS Knowledge and Skills Factsheet.
Refrences
KSF - Knowledge and Skills Factsheet
Supporting Documents and Downloads
Skills for Health Annual Review 06/07 [pdf]
(1.57 MB)
North East Regional LMI Report [doc]
(504 KB)
