Skills For Health

What Skills For Health does

Skills for Health is the UK Sector Skills Council for Health, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2002 and headquartered in Bristol, operating as part of The Workforce Development Trust charitable group. It provides workforce development, eLearning, research, and consultancy services to the UK's healthcare sector, with NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, Primary Care Networks, Health Education England, the Department for Health and Social Care, and a range of community and independent healthcare bodies as customers. Over 20 years it has equipped 5,000 managers and leaders through its flagship Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning® and is cited as supporting 2.4 million staff and 15.8 million patients through improved workforce planning outcomes.

The company's core intellectual property comprises the registered Six Steps Methodology, the Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF) — the recognised UK-wide standard for health and social care training compliance — and more than 100 competency and capabilities frameworks. These are delivered alongside the LearnSpace learning management platform for eLearning and compliance management, the Ambit organisational diagnostic tool, the Scenario Informed Resilience Assessment (SIRA), and the HASO apprenticeship support service. The 2025 launches of SIRA and the "Beyond Six Steps" resilience programme, together with the National Occupational Standards for Resilience and Emergencies developed in partnership with the UK Resilience Academy, extend the product surface into organisational resilience and cross-sector emergency preparedness.

Revenue is generated across four streams: eLearning and LearnSpace subscriptions for compliance training; consultancy services for workforce development, framework development, and organisational development; training programmes including the public Six Steps Open Programme at £1,595+VAT per participant with tiered group discounts and CPD accreditation; and Research & Evaluation services covering workforce surveys, gap analysis, social ROI assessments, and bespoke policy research for NHS and government clients. Distribution combines enterprise field sales targeting NHS trusts and ICSs, self-serve LearnSpace purchasing for mid-market customers, managed-service delivery for resource-constrained organisations, and event-driven engagement through the annual Our Health Heroes awards and regional workforce planning events. The UK is the sole operating geography.

Name

Skills For Health

Legal name

Skills for Health

Website

https://skillsforhealth.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Skills for Health is the UK's not-for-profit Sector Skills Council providing workforce planning methodologies (Six Steps), the CSTF training framework, LearnSpace eLearning, consultancy, and research services to NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, and government health bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare workforce development and training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Management (LMS) & Talent Development (BPACAPAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Workforce Development & Capacity-Building (HLAJAKAM), Workforce Development, Employment Readiness & Job Placement (BPADAKAE), Global Health Systems Strengthening (BPAGABAD), Skills Assessment & Talent/Employability Testing Platforms (EDAFADAM)

Keywords

• Healthcare workforce planning
• Healthcare training compliance
• NHS workforce development
• Healthcare competency frameworks
• ELearning for healthcare

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Bespoke research and analysis, organisational development, workforce development, framework development, and apprenticeship support services delivered by expert consultants.
2. Training Programmes: Six Steps Open Programme at £1,595 + VAT per participant with group discounts. In-house training and managed services also available. CPD accredited workshops for leadership development.
3. eLearning and Learning Management: Compliance training for health and social care, Core Skills Training Framework eLearning, Care Certificate bundles, and threat awareness training delivered through the LearnSpace platform.
4. Research & Evaluation Services: Customised research projects including workforce surveys, gap analysis, skills audits, scenario planning, labour market intelligence, and Social ROI assessments for healthcare organisations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Skills for Health provides integrated workforce development solutions to UK healthcare organisations, including the Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning (delivered through an Open Programme, Managed Service, and resilience-focused variant), the Scenario Informed Resilience Assessment (SIRA), bespoke Framework Development (competency, capability, and career frameworks), Leadership/Management/Organisational Development services, Research & Evaluation, and compliance eLearning delivered via its LearnSpace LMS aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework.

Product overview

Skills for Health is a not-for-profit Sector Skills Council for Health providing integrated workforce solutions, consultancy services, and eLearning products. The core offering includes the Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning® (with Open Programme, Managed Service, and new Beyond Six Steps resilience programme), Scenario Informed Resilience Assessment (SIRA), and comprehensive Framework Development services including Customised Career Frameworks and Capabilities Frameworks. Supporting services include Leadership, Management & Organisational Development (with Consultancy, One-to-one Coaching, and Bespoke OD), Research & Evaluation, and eLearning delivered through the LearnSpace platform aligned to the Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF). Additional offerings encompass The Care Certificate, HASO apprenticeship support, Quality Assurance Audits, and the Our Health Heroes Awards programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning: Gold standard workforce planning methodology trusted by NHS and healthcare organisations
• Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF)
• Six Steps Open Programme
• Our Health Heroes
• Scenario Informed Resilience Assessment (SIRA)
• Organisational Diagnostic Tool - Ambit
• HASO

Products and services

• Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning Gold standard workforce planning methodology trusted by hundreds of NHS and independent healthcare organisations to build a workforce of the right size, with the right skills, at the right time.
• Six Steps Open Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Patient waiting times reduced from 2 years to 4 weeks
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• UK Resilience AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The National Occupational Standards for Resilience and Emergencies were developed by The Workforce Development Trust (parent group to Skills for Health) in partnership with the UK Resilience Academy. These standards provide a comprehensive national resource for the resilience workforce development.
• Health Education EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Commissioned partner for developing national competency frameworks, primary care solutions, and conducting research on integrated apprenticeships in health and social care. Long-standing pro-active partner aligned with national NHS priorities.
• The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh - Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian HealthcarestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to develop the Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare Capabilities Framework in response to industry and public health needs to define and set standards for organisations and personnel delivering healthcare in remote and rural environments.
• Skills for CarestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on reviewing integrated apprenticeships in health and social care sectors, providing examples of good practice and identifying barriers to facilitating integrated apprenticeships.
• North West Cancer AlliancesstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned partner for developing the Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) capability framework to inform the development of a national framework for cancer care workforce.
• National Wound Care Strategy ProgrammestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned partner for developing the National Wound Care Core Capability Framework for England describing required skills, knowledge and behaviours to improve wound care.
• Department for Health and Social CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational government body that Skills for Health works with at national level to develop tailored solutions supporting local and regional healthcare organisations.
• NHS England & ImprovementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary NHS national body partner for workforce development initiatives, frameworks, and national healthcare workforce solutions.
• Home Office and JESIPstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunders and partners for national evaluation of the Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Programme (JESIP) assessing collaborative training across police, fire and ambulance services.
• The Workforce Development TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organisation of Skills for Health. The Workforce Development Trust encompasses multiple sector skills councils and workforce development bodies.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Skills for Care: Sister sector skills council within The Workforce Development Trust focused on the adult social care workforce in England. Most directly comparable to Skills for Health given shared parent, shared methodology/framework IP, and overlapping NHS/social-care workforce planning remit.
• NHS Leadership Academy: Operates within the NHS and delivers leadership development, OD, and workforce programmes for NHS staff. Directly comparable to Skills for Health's Leadership, Management and Organisational Development and coaching services for NHS buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Health Education England: National NHS body responsible for education, training, and workforce development. Operates as a strategic commissioner of Skills for Health's framework work and a buyer rather than competitor, but its own workforce planning and leadership programmes overlap with adjacent offerings in the same buying cycle.
• Capita Public Services: Large UK outsourcer with significant NHS and public-sector workforce, training, and managed services contracts. Comparable as a UK public-sector workforce and learning services incumbent that competes for adjacent NHS framework and managed service work.
• Reed Talent Solutions: UK workforce solutions arm of Reed, offering managed service, apprenticeship, and workforce development programmes to NHS and large employers. Comparable on apprenticeship/HASO-like and managed workforce service lines targeting the same NHS buyers.
• Deloitte Human Capital (UK): Big Four practice competing in workforce strategy, OD, and large-scale NHS transformation programmes. Comparable as a higher-end consultancy alternative for workforce planning and leadership engagements that compete with Skills for Health's managed services.

Emerging players

• Kallidus: UK-based learning and talent management SaaS provider with an LMS, compliance, and learning content offering. Comparable on the LearnSpace-style eLearning/compliance delivery side, with similar UK enterprise customer base but a commercial (rather than charity) structure.
• Totara Learn: Open-source LMS platform widely used by NHS Trusts and public-sector organisations for compliance and workforce training. Comparable as an alternative LMS technology stack that NHS customers could deploy in place of LearnSpace, shaping competitive dynamics in the eLearning delivery layer.
• People Insight: UK employee engagement, OD, and workforce diagnostics consultancy serving public sector and healthcare clients. Comparable to Skills for Health's Ambit organisational diagnostic tool and bespoke OD services on the people-analytics side.

Regional players

• Workforce Development Scotland: Scotland's national skills body covering skills development and workforce planning across sectors. Comparable as a sector/regional skills body operating adjacent workforce development frameworks in the same UK market, particularly relevant given Skills for Health's NHS Scotland engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skillsforhealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skills-for-health
• Facebookfacebook.com/skillsforhealth1

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Skills For Health