It is important that employers have a say in how their workforce is shaped.
Establishing employer forums for each country and English region is one way to bring forward local and national strategies within the health sector, assess employer issues and skills demand, and consider priorities for improving the supply of the workforce.
In England, the West Midlands and the East of England regions already have their own forums.
The West Midlands forum, comprising Skills for Health, the Strategic Health Authority, Primary Care Trusts, Acute Trusts, and Trade Unions, is already moving forward.
The forum has agreed to set up a Regional Skills Network to help coordinate onsite education activities in healthcare.
In particular, it will focus on issues regarding NHS staff in pay bands 1-4 and coordinate activity in a way that adds to the work of the local health community, while also giving people a chance to progress.
The forum is looking at how this will link to, and complement, the work of the Skills Academy for Health and how it can engage with other regional bodies such as the Strategic Health Authority, Learning and Skills Council and other employer networks in the region.
