A skills collective is bringing together workforce leaders, employers, educators, sector bodies, union representatives and people with lived experience to help shape the future of the health and social care workforce.

The Health and Social Care Skills Collective has been established by the awarding organisation and education charity NCFE in response to ongoing workforce pressures across the sector, including recruitment and retention challenges, changing skills needs and evolving models of care. 

Providing a space for meaningful discussion, shared expertise and practical action to support a resilient, skilled and sustainable workforce, participants will explore how education, qualifications and workforce development can support the sector's future, with insights informing research, thought leadership, policy discussion and collaborative action. 

The launch coincides with the publication of the Collective's inaugural paper, From Recruitment to Workforce Sustainability: Building the Health and Social Care Workforce, which argues that the sector must move beyond a short-term focus on workforce shortages and adopt a more sustainable, long-term approach to workforce development. 

Dr Jane Brightman, Trustee and Board Member at NCFE, said: "The health and social care workforce is fundamental to the health, wellbeing and independence of people and communities. Yet the sector faces persistent recruitment and retention pressures, changing models of care, rapidly evolving occupational roles, and ongoing technological advancements.  

"Building a sustainable workforce requires more than filling vacancies: it requires a long-term approach to skills, careers, progression, and professional development. As one of the UK’s leading assessment and awarding organisations serving health and social care, NCFE has a unique perspective on the role that technical and vocational education can play in developing the workforce.  

"Through the Health and Social Care Skills Collective, we bring together strategic workforce leaders, employers, educators, people drawing on health and care services, union representatives, and sector organisations to consider how education and qualifications can better support the future of the sector." 

The launch comes at a significant moment for the social care sector. Recent announcements outlining plans for a future National Care Service, alongside wider discussions on social care reform, have intensified the national conversation around workforce capacity, skills development, career progression and professional recognition.  

The Government has said that delivering long-term reform will depend on building workforce and provider capacity across the care sector. The skills collective builds on NCFE's recent social care workforce report containing insights from more than 100 current and former care workers. 

Staying, leaving or progressing? explores attitudes towards pay, progression, professional recognition, and wellbeing. The findings revealed a workforce committed to making a difference, but facing growing pressures that continue to affect retention. 

As policymakers, employers, and sector leaders consider the future shape of adult social care, the Health and Social Care Skills Collective aims to ensure workforce development remains central to those discussions. 

It will examine priorities including workforce sustainability, retention, leadership, lifelong learning, integrated career pathways, and the future skills needed to meet growing demand across health and social care. 

Meeting regularly across the year, the Health and Social Care Skills Collective will continue to generate insight and recommendations to inform debate and support employers, educators and policymakers as they work towards a more resilient and sustainable health and social care workforce. 

For more information about the Health and Social Care Skills Collective, and to read the inaugural paper, visit the dedicated landing page. 

Read now : The Health and Social Care Skills Collective's inaugural paper