Better skills, Better jobs, Better health
More apprenticeships in the health sector can help to improve well-being and create more job opportunities.
Skills for Health is a not-for-profit registered charity whose purpose is to help health care employers deliver better patient care through improving quality, productivity and workforce development.
Being the Sector Skills Council for the whole UK health sector licensed by government means that our expertise and experience in workforce development is recognised. This makes us ideally placed to be a catalyst for organisations and stakeholders across the Northern Ireland health economy that are seeking to plan the healthcare workforce and develop skills solutions in response to service change.
Transforming Your Care (TYC), which aims to produce a safe and sustainable health and social care service for Northern Ireland, is an important priority for everyone involved with the Northern Ireland health sector. Recently, Skills for Health has been working with health trusts in Northern Ireland, helping them to evaluate their approach to workforce planning as they aim to meet the challenges of delivering TYC.
Sam Gallaher, Skills for Health’s Executive Director, says: “As someone resident in Northern Ireland I know that Skills for Health is committed to using its position and expertise to help employers in the health sector in Northern Ireland to improve the quality of services provided, to optimise resources and develop their workforce to maximum effect.”
Getting young people into sustainable employment is a priority for Northern Ireland. The use of apprenticeships specifically in the Northern Ireland health sector is currently low, compared to other parts of the UK. Through our programmes, we facilitate well over 3,000 apprenticeships per annum in health, with a significant number in the 19-24 and 16-18 age groups.
We aim to help the health sector in the province to realise the value to be gained from apprenticeships. We believe that current spending on apprenticeships and training in Northern Ireland could be levered to greater effect.
Developing the supporting workforce is also a key priority for Skills for Health and an economic imperative for the sector. We have taken the lead in developing codes of practice and common training standards for healthcare support workers and a UK-wide Common Core Skills Training Framework for all staff. This is focused on raising standards. Our contribution to the recent Francis and Cavendish reports has been valued by government.
We produce National Occupational Standards that make it simple for employers to articulate skills and competence requirements for any role, and a variety of tools that make their application easy. These standards help to inform investment in education and training.
In addition, Skills for Health provides comprehensive solutions in e-rostering and e-learning. We are the largest provider of e-learning to the health sector in the UK.
Through MyHealthSkills.com and the programmes delivered by our new subsidiary the National Skills Academy for Health, health employers can obtain practical advice and support on developing the skills of their support workforce.
Ed Tickler, Skills for Health’s recently appointed Regional Director, is looking forward to working with healthcare employers and stakeholder organisations across Northern Ireland.
Ed says: “Skills for Health has a lot to offer as healthcare organisations work to deliver TYC. Having a comprehensive and robust approach to workforce planning and skills development is vital for every healthcare organisation seeking to deliver high quality patient-centred care and for achieving sustainable national health services within Northern Ireland.”
For more information on Skills for Health, please contact: Ed Tickler, Regional Director for Northern Ireland. Email: ed.tickler@skillsforhealth.org.uk Websites: www.skillsforhealth.org.uk www.myhealthskills.com www.nsahealth.org.uk
