About the Future Workforce Unit

​​​​ On this page

1. Video: Planning for the future​
2. Who we are
3. Where we came from
4. What we do
5. How we do it​

​ Video: Planning for the future​

Watch the short video below to find out about why we need to think about the future and how NSW Health is preparing for the future.

Who we are

NSW Health is committed to achieving a 'fit-for-purpose' workforce for the future. The Future Workforce Unit leads the discussion and shapes the vision for the future NSW Health workforce. We provide specialist knowledge of horizon scanning, strategic foresight and strategic workforce planning. 

Where we came from

Established in 2018, the Focus on the Future Workforce Initiative was created to support a resilient and digitally enabled workforce that is prepared for the future. After five years of delivery, and local and global disruptions changing the way we think and plan for the future, it was time for a reset. In June 2023, the Future Workforce Unit was established. 

What we do

The Future Workforce Unit: ​

• Scans, identifies and analyses future workforce trends including monitoring critical impacts on workforce supply and demand
• Is responsible for strategic workforce planning
• Leads the development of holistic workforce strategies and future of work capabilities across the NSW public health system
• Offers guidance to NSW Health’s leaders to ensure a capable, sustainable and future-ready workforce.
  

​Strategic workforce planning vs workforce planning

Workforce planning is:

• Short term focus – Generally focuses on annual headcount projections as part of the budget-setting process.
• Focus on jobs – Focuses on recruitment solutions to fill job vacancies.
• Focus on single roles – Focuses on single role productivity or quantities to support business service delivery, or both.

Strategic workforce planning is:

• Long-term system-wide focus – Looks to the system of work in which jobs are embedded, including considering business strategy, structure and process to support the future of the organisation.
• Focus on teams – Expanding the analysis from focusing on vacancies and hours worked in one job (role) to the set of roles that make up a complete work process.
• Focus on how work is performed (systems view versus role-centric view) – ​Including specific tasks and bottlenecks, reconfiguring tasks across jobs to make more robust talent systems. For example, the key question is how to optimise the number of patients treated per hour by the entire system of roles and not just the single role of a physician.

Our role in workforce planning for NSW Health

​Workforce planning at NSW Health consists of a complex set of layers addressing different types of workforce approaches. Strategic workforce planning typically takes a five-year view on forecasting and planning. Our work supports a longer-term view of planning and preparing our workforce for the future. 

Types of workforce planning in NSW Health

Ministry of Health

Future of work planning for a 10-year horizon and beyond by the Ministry of Health, through: 

• Horizons scanning
• Megatrends
• Future Health vision
• NSW Health Workforce Plan (HWP) - Horizon 3. 

Strategic workforce planning for a two to 10-year horizon by the Workforce Planning and Talent Development Branch, through: 

• HWP - Horizons 1 and 2 
• Dynamic data driven scenario planning 
• Incubated collaboration scenario modelling. ​
  

NSW Health

• Resource planning for a one to 18-month horizon.
  
• Daily/monthly ​operational planning.
• Workforce tracking to determine historical and current trends.

​ How we do it​

​The NSW Health Workforce Plan 2022-2032 states: ‘Our leaders are abreast of the factors driving future changes in workforce models and ready for gaps and emerging disruptions.’

​The NSW Health system of today plays an important role in helping to identify and co-design the workforce, skills, capabilities and technologies of the future. Advances in technology, innovative models of health delivery and changing needs of our consumers present significant opportunities to build a stronger, more flexible, patient-centred health system in NSW. ​

To stay abreast of these opportunities:

• We scan the horizon for future workforce related data, evidence, signals, and trends that may impact the future of the NSW Health workforce.
• We analyse and develop insights relevant to our stakeholders.
• We use future workforce insights to undertake options analyses, research best practice and translate the impact of future trends on organisational and workforce strategies with suggested mitigations, considerations and actions.
• We share future workforce insights with our people to inform planning and decision making.
• We adopt an evidence-based approach and showcase effective workforce strategies and innovations.
• We connect curious thinkers, thought leaders and subject matter experts to support collaborative future-focused conversations across NSW Health.
• We collaborate to strategically connect forecasts of workforce supply, demand, service projections, capacity and capability.
• We empower our leaders to act on insights to help better innovate, plan and prepare their workforce and their organisations for the future.
• We help to enable uplift of workforce planning by providing tools and resources, optimising processes and shaping continuous evolution in planning assumptions and methodologies.

If you want to know more about the Future Workforce Team, email us: MOH-WPTD-FutureWorkforceUnit@health.nsw.gov.au