Skills for Health is a registered charity, founded in 2002, deeply rooted in the NHS. As the UK’s Sector Skills Council for health, we’re dedicated to developing an improved, sustainable healthcare workforce - ensuring better skills, better jobs, and better health across the nation.

Partnering with NHS Trusts, independent providers, and community and voluntary organisations, we deliver integrated workforce development and technical architecture, leadership and organisational development, eLearning, research, and apprenticeship support. Our flagship initiatives include the nationally recognised Six Steps to Integrated Workforce Planning®, alongside National Occupational Standards and apprenticeship standards that define and shape modern healthcare careers.

With over two decades of impact, our mission is to solve workforce challenges - reducing waiting times, boosting staff retention, and creating new roles aligned to national standards. A core part of our work focuses on workforce resilience, supporting organisations to build flexible, adaptable workforce models, strengthen emergency preparedness, and maintain continuity of care in the face of system pressures and crises.