The National Competency Framework was developed by the NHS to raise the profile of data and analytics as a profession within the healthcare system, and to build the skills needed to futureproof the workforce.
As an early adopter of the framework, Arden & GEM’s Business Intelligence (BI) service has already experienced a range of benefits including greater workforce insights, enhanced skills and increased professional development. The result is a more enhanced, competent and confident workforce able to use its skills and knowledge to add value for clients including NHS England and ICS partners.
The challenge
The NHS, and the wider health and care system, has access to a wealth of data. But unlocking the potential of this data to improve service quality, patient outcomes and population health, requires skilled professionals. Set against the backdrop of a UK-wide shortage of data and analytics specialists, recruiting and retaining talent within the NHS had become increasingly challenging.
The National Competency Framework (NCF) was developed by NHS England, the Association of Professional Healthcare Analysts (AphA) and the Chief Data and Analytics Officer Network to support a vision of health and care as ‘the place to be’ for analytical and data professionals.
The NCF strategic objectives were to:
- Raise the profile of data and analysis as a profession within the healthcare system
- Raise the profile of the profession within the wider data and analysis community
- Provide leadership and strategy to data and analytics professionals working in the system
- Use this as an opportunity to build stronger data literacy skills in the wider health and care workforce.
The resulting framework was developed iteratively through system collaboration and ownership, from a landscape review in 2021 through to the beta evaluation in 2023.
Our approach
As a provider of data and analytics services to 30 health and care organisations, the Arden & GEM BI directorate has over 300 team members. Like many NHS bodies, the CSU was experiencing challenges in recruiting suitably skilled and experienced team members.
With support from in-house organisational and workforce development specialists, several initiatives had been implemented to tackle this challenge. These included apprenticeship programmes – for both internal and external applicants – and capability development programmes. Arden & GEM recognised the potential value of the NCF to complement this approach and become an early adopter in 2023.
Developing skills to help the NHS harness data
The NCF includes three core domains which equip data and analytics professionals with the essential skills and competencies needed in a health and care setting:
- Technical and data skills
- Communication and collaboration
- Professional behaviours.
BI team members were supported to map their current competencies and understand what skills would be needed to pursue their chosen career path. Individuals were then able to design their own learning and development plans to fill competency gaps.
The iterative nature of the NCF means that competency requirements are always reviewed and updated in line with the evolving needs of the sector. For example, the importance of data ethics and public health within lower bands will be recognised in the newest version of the framework being released next spring.
Implementing the NCF dashboard
To fully embrace the potential insights provided by adopting the NCF, Arden & GEM has implemented a workforce dashboard built around competency data. The dashboard provides:
- A snapshot of the workforce’s current competencies by role and by band
- An indication of the competencies being worked towards
- An overview of how this aligns with current and upcoming client projects.
The organisation has used this information to develop and refine an ongoing learning and development programme which includes technical skills in Python, Power BI, data visualisation and pipeline building.
Guiding the professional development of apprentices
The NCF has been instrumental in guiding the professional development of those undertaking a Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship with the CSU. By working through the framework’s core domains, apprentices have been enabled to track their learning, reflect on their progress and identify areas for growth.
Two apprentices have recently progressed to working directly on customer contracts, demonstrating not only their technical competence but also their ability to manage relationships and contribute to project outcomes. They had a clear career pathway to progress from their Apprentice contracts to achieve Band 6 analyst roles – positions that require independent problem-solving and leadership in analysis.
The outcomes
The NCF is now well embedded within the CSU, creating a transparent and supportive pathway for analysts to grow into skilled, confident professionals capable of making a tangible impact:
- At an individual level, team members are supported to enhance their skills and acquire the competencies needed for their chosen career path.
- At an organisational level, Arden & GEM is benefitting from enhanced employer branding, greater workforce insights and tailored organisational development.
- While clients across the health and care system have access to a skilled, knowledgeable and valued resource to help in planning, delivering and transforming healthcare.
Colleagues are also regular contributors to the NCF communities of practice and special interest groups, sharing experiences and learning with peers to ensure clients benefit from latest knowledge and best practice.
"The real strength of the National Competency Framework is not just its collaborative development approach, but the experiences of people and organisations using it. Arden & GEM have been actively involved from the beginning in the development, deployment and use of the Framework and their input has been invaluable. Hearing the ways they have been using the Framework and the benefits they have seen is providing inspiration to so many other organisations to encourage them to adopt the Framework and begin to use it to drive forward the development of their data and analytics teams. Their continued support and input will be a key part of the evolution and long-term success of the Framework."
Andrew Lavelle, Senior Analytical Manager at NHS England
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