Career and competency frameworks
There are several career frameworks and competency frameworks that relate to staff working in the health sector.
Frameworks can help staff understand their current situation and develop their future career.
The main frameworks that are relevant to staff working in the health sector are:
- The NHS Career Framework has been designed to improve career development and job satisfaction for NHS employees. It encourages individuals to learn new skills and take on extra responsibilities that enable them to progress within the organisation. Many people take on additional responsibility within their own area, while others retrain and move into different roles.
The career framework diagram gives an illustration of a variety of health careers and where they may fit on the career framework. It is not exhaustive; visit the Explore roles section of this website for details about all the available careers in health. As an example, take a look at Alan Cecil’s real-life story in which he describes how he has progressed within the allied health professions. You can follow his career path in the white boxes on the career framework diagram, alongside other potential paths in the different areas of the NHS.
- Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) – describes the knowledge and skills NHS staff (except doctors and dentists) need to apply in their work
- National Occupational Standards (NOS) provide benchmarks of performance
- Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (PHSKF, 2016) describes the range of functions that individuals working in public health perform in their work. It can be used to help identify individuals' development needs, either in their current post or with a future career in mind.
The KSF, NOS and PHSKF documents are very detailed. If you are not familiar with them and how to use them, you may find it useful to talk to your manager, mentor or a colleague with more experience.