The report of the Advisory Group was published in October 2022 with 16 recommendations across the areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development, sectoral reform, and monitoring and implementation.
The recommendations will be progressed through a dedicated implementation group. My Department is engaging with recommendation owners in order to define an implementation plan. It is intended to publish a detailed implementation plan containing the steps involved in delivering the recommendations in the coming months. The implementation group will meet quarterly, and the Department of Health will publish progress reports against this plan after these meetings take place.
Regarding recommendation 10 in particular, the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group identified the HSE as the primary owner of this recommendation. Initial discussions between the Department and the HSE on this recommendation have taken place. The Department of Health, the Department of Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Skills, and SOLAS have been identified as supporting stakeholders of this recommendation. The recommendation is being scoped by the HSE and details of its implementation, once determined, will be included in the implementation plan.
Regarding the apprenticeship, a key commitment of the ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’ is to grow the number of apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including local authorities, to reach 750 annual registrations by 2025. This represents a more than seven-fold increase on 2020 registrations and will support a long-term goal of 7% of the apprentice population being employed by public service employers.
DFHERIS has established a working group, representing Government Departments and agencies and local authorities, to develop a Public Service Apprenticeship Recruitment Plan by summer 2023. The Group’s work is based on surveying over 100 organisations in relation to their skills needs.
Regarding the healthcare assistant apprenticeship, there has been extensive engagement between DFHERIS, the HSE and Department of Health in relation to a commitment in the Action Plan to explore a healthcare assistant apprenticeship programme for the HSE, and the options for how this might be piloted.
The HSE conducted a feasibility study on the creation of QQI level 5 Apprenticeship Model for Health Care Assistants. A wide range of both internal and external stakeholders were interviewed. In total, 16 recommendations were proposed. Many stakeholders highlighted the benefits of introducing an apprenticeship programme mainly from the perspective of recruitment and retention, reframing the role in public’s perception and to position it as a career with a path to develop. The study acknowledged the operational challenges and difficulties linked with the creation of a new Apprenticeship Programme.
To date, HSE has engaged with DFHERIS, DoH, NAO, QQI and SOLAS concerning the application and validation process for the apprenticeship programme. HSE is now preparing a business plan identifying resources required to implement a two-year pilot apprenticeship programme. This business plan will be submitted through Estimates process for 2024. It is vital to note that preparatory work (duration – 12 to 14 months) is required prior to implementing the two-year apprenticeship programme. This preparatory work can be completed only if the dedicated resources are prioritised within the estimates process for 2024.
