Competences / National Occupational Standards offer the opportunity of redesigning roles and education teams flexibly. A range of resources are available or planned to assist workforce redesign:

• LMI, Workforce planning and Modelling
• National Occupational Standards
• Competence based redesign
• Embedding the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF)
• Learning principles (Higher)

LABOUR MARKET INTELLIGENCE (LMI)

According to the Information Centre for Health and Social Care, the NHS in England employed over 1.3 million people as at 30 September 2008. The health sector in the East of England employs nearly 165,000 people (7% of all employment in the region). The latest information on skills and LMI in the East of England can be accessed from the Skills for Health website at East of England LMI Briefing 2009.

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) published the Working Futures 2007-17 (Executive Summary) in December 2008 (full report). The analysis focuses upon the future patterns of demand for skills as measured by occupation. The emphasis is on the national (UK) situation but a summary of the implications for the individual countries and English regions is also provided. UKCES subsequently published Ambition 2020: World Class Skills and Jobs for the UK (May 2009) which is the first progress report by the Commission and indicates significant improvements in skill levels over the last 10 years. Significant challenges remain, however, and the report recommends to the Government the setting of a target of being in the top 8 countries in the world by 2020 and identifies 5 key priorities. Cranfield School of Management published Nurturing Talent in October 2008 which examines the cost benefit of investing in training.

The Skills for Health Policy and Labour Market Intelligence Briefings cover the latest developments on skills and policy work relating to the UK healthcare workforce.

Key Sources of LMI

• Skills for Health LMI Resource on line
• Skills for Health Regional LMI Reports (9 Regional Reports)
• Insight East economic intelligence for the East of England
• Skills for Health Workforce Projects Team LMI and Intelligence Guide for NHS Planners- Intelligence Guide for NHS Planners
• Skills for Health – LMI Report on the Independent Sector (May 2008) 
• Information Centre for Health and Social Care – workforce data and statistics 
• Skills for Care Social Care LMI
• National Employer Skills Survey 2007
• Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Educational Provision and Attainment 
  

WORKFORCE PLANNING AND REDESIGN RESOURCES

The Audit Commission have assessed PCT Use of Resources for 2008/09 which includes 3 themes: managing finances, governing the business and managing resources. Workforce planning is part of latter theme and the Commission has concluded it is a weak area for a number of PCTs. To access the report, click: Auditor's Local Evaluation and Use of Resources 2008/09. 

The Darzi Workforce Report 2008 described a Workforce Planning Centre of Excellence within the NHS. Procurement commenced in March 2009. For further information, see the Department of Health website at: Strengthening Workforce Planning.

The development menus introduced in 2007 produced by the Skills for Health Workforce Projects Team to improve capacity and capability in workforce planning in health and social care have now been updated to include a wider range of resources and programmes supporting workforce planning following the Darzi report.  To see, click here. To find out more about the Post Graduate Certificate in Strategic Workforce Planning, click here.

The Darzi Next Steps Review has galvanised an array of changes into a coordinated direction of travel and the workforce implications are set out clearly in the workforce report.

Workforce redesign resources can be applied to help deliver many Darzi objectives, eg:

• Waiting Times
• Patient Choice
• Commissioning
• Shifting care
• Primary and Community services
• Long term conditions, care co-ordinators and direct payments
• Centralizing care
• Care Pathways
• Public Health

Key resources to support workforce and education planning and redesign

• The Information Centre for Health and Social Care - Supporting Workforce Planning
• Workforce Planning and Modelling tools
• East of England Pharmacy Workforce Project Report.  A profile of community, industrial and academic sectors. The aim of this project was to obtain up-to-date and meaningful workforce data for the above sectors to inform future workforce planning.   An East of England Pharmacy Workforce Strategy for 2009 -2012 has also been published. 
• Skills for Health Workforce Projects Team
• NHS Workforce Review Team
• NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
• NHS Employers - Embedding the KSF
• Skills for Health Career Frameworks
• Skills for Health Competence application tools
• Skills for Health Qualifications and Learning Pathways
• Skills for Health Workforce Projects Team – Working Time Directive 2009
• One Children's Workforce Tool. This will help Children's Trusts identify areas for potential improvement most likely to help Every Child Matters outcomes
• Skills for Care / Association of Directors of Adult Social Services – Integrated Local Area Workforce Strategy (InLAWS)
• The Workforce Improvement Tool. This 18-week "interactive pdf" brings together a wide range of workforce information and signposts advice and resources in areas of interest identified by the user.
• Department of Health – World Class Commissioning
• NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement – World Class Commissioning
  
  

RESOURCE GUIDE

To access further information on new roles and teams, including workforce planning and design, see section 6 of the Resource Guide.