Workforce data and intelligence
As the strategic workforce organisation for NHS Wales, we have an all-Wales role in workforce strategy, planning and intelligence.
We turn workforce data into evidence and insight to help NHS Wales understand its workforce, anticipate future pressures and make data informed decisions about workforce planning, education commissioning, training and investment.
Supported by local insight, we work with Welsh Government, NHS Wales organisations, education providers, professional bodies and national partners to provide a national view of workforce supply, education and training pipelines, workforce trends and emerging risks.
- Read our latest Workforce Trends Report
- Visit our Workforce Observatory
How our intelligence supports workforce decisions
Our intelligence in action
These examples show how our intelligence supports workforce planning and decisions about education, training and future workforce supply.
Our GP trainee pipeline analysis links education and training information with subsequent employment data. It provides insight into progression, retention and the contribution of training to future workforce supply. It also demonstrates how linked data can improve understanding of workforce pathways and outcomes.
Our work in perioperative, maternity and neonatal services brings together available data and professional insight to identify workforce risks and variation and inform service and workforce planning.
We collect and analyse NHS Wales Staff Survey data and, from this year, we will collect Primary Care Staff Survey data. Both are important sources of insight for the Workforce Equality Standard (WES). The WES dashboard supports national reporting and helps NHS organisations identify equality disparities so actions can be taken to address them.
Our intelligence informs the NHS Wales Education and Training Plan, bringing together modelling, training pipeline information and workforce analysis to support education commissioning decisions in the context of current workforce demand, future supply and graduate employment prospects.
Looking ahead
Our priority is to improve the completeness, consistency and connection of existing data, strengthening insight into workforce movement, skills, career pathways, vacancies, establishment and professional registration.
Better-connected intelligence will help NHS Wales understand workforce supply, assess the longer-term outcomes of education and training investment, model future scenarios and identify effective interventions. It will also help partners consider the value and sustainability of different workforce approaches.
This directly supports Mission Four of our Digital and Data Strategy 2023-2028: delivering effective and secure data capabilities that drive actionable insight, intelligence and improvement.