Health and Social Care Task Group

The Task group is the only one of the groups to operate Pan-Sussex across East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove, reflecting the make-up of the NHS across the region.

The Health and Social Care sector is large and wide-ranging with over 350 job roles. Pan Sussex the sector is facing major challenges in recruitment and retention in some areas such as care, adult social care and allied roles including midwifery and nursing. Alongside this digital technology is changing the face of healthcare, creating efficiencies, changes to processes as well as requirement for a digitally skilled workforce to meeting these changes.

The group includes representatives from local employers and national bodies this includes:

  • Skills for Care
  • NHS England – South East
  • NHS Sussex
  • Adult Social Care from East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove Councils
  • Community Pharmacy
  • East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust
  • East Sussex Integrated Care Board

There are also representatives from education and training and other stakeholders including:

  • East Sussex College Group
  • University of Brighton
  • Sussex Council of Training Providers (SCTP)
  • DWP Job centres
  • Reed in Partnership
  • Spear Hastings

The task group is chaired by Kathy Martyn of University of Brighton.

Chair Kathy Martyn, Principal Lecturer Nutrition University of Brighton

2024/25 Strategic Plan activities

2024/25 Strategic Plan activities
Partnership activities
1. Raise the profile of the sector Delivery and roll out of Recruitment Hub campaign, in [partnership with the NHS and Adult Social Care. Focussed on showcasing 10 job roles through job pathway videos, infographics, posters and social media
Access the resource and expertise of national sector bodies (Skills for Care Workforce Strategy and NHS England) to support activities/raise the profile of the sector at a national level.
Encourage involvement in careers hub activities (eg Industry Champion) and share opportunities through the task group and wider networks for engagement with young people.
Set up Task Group subgroup to focus on profile raising/promotion activities for the sector.
2. Help industry to engage with education/ training provision to inform curriculum/ respond to industry need Utilise sector networks to engage sector businesses and organisations, making them aware of opportunities available
Build in real world opportunities for careers/teaching staff and students (eg Open Doors through the careers hub), as well as job centre advisors
Progress potential for skills bootcamps
Identify and progress upskilling opportunities (eg such as digital skills development).
3. Resources provision Map employability and skills best practice – what could be embedded or delivered in East Sussex.
4. Widening the net of recruitment/diversity into the sector (linked to activity 1) Look at opportunities to target particular pools of job seekers/young people (Ieg migrants/refugees through ESTAR, care leavers, exiting service personnel)
5. Value of Maths and English in the workplace Bringing employer voice to young people – how maths and English are practically applied in the sector (relating curriculum to real life)
Map good practice both locally and nationally, work to embed this across the county
Addressing barriers of maths and English qualifications to uptake and success in employment and apprenticeships

Health and Social Care Task Group meetings

Contact Skills East Sussex  if you are a sector employer, training or education provider and want details. Other than your time, and occasional travel, there are no costs to joining Skills East Sussex meetings.   

The next meeting of the group is on Tuesday 25th February 2025.

Please find below the action notes of recent task group meetings.

If you wish to see minutes of a meeting not listed, please email Skills East Sussex and we will do our best to help.

Task Group achievements

  • East Sussex College Group (ESCG) responded to demand in developing an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) course specifically for workers in health and care. 
  • Supported development and delivery of a Health and Social Care Teachers Encounters day, enabling curriculum teacher and careers leads to link with local businesses through facilitated workshop to increase their knowledge and embed this knowledge through the curriculum and careers provision.
  • Set up a Task Group subgroup focussed on Pharmacy to address recruitment challenges and to support the community sector to navigate the apprenticeship process. Recruitment for 2024 has increased and on an ongoing relationship developed with community and pharmacy and NHS England.
  • A joint presentation was given by the universities of Brighton and Chichester on Nursing Associate programmes. A task group sub-group worked with providers on making these courses more attractive and accessible, particularly to those with level 2 maths and English but not GCSEs.