It's time for some forward thinking

摘要

At our annual PPMA seminar in May 2014 we considered what the future would hold for the public sector and its workforce. The world is changing so quickly now and this is also influencing how we will deliver services in the future, and also the expectations from our future workforce. Almost every day there is news of a potential new unitaries, collaborations and partnerships with health and others. Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is also starting a wider debate about how local services could be managed differently. So, things are already changing. The jobs market is increasingly buoyant and this has started a trickle of public sector people in some professions into roles where pay is higher and prospects are perceived to be better. A recent EU report suggests that we will all experience a workforce 'cliff' where demand for people outstrips supply. For the UK this is suggested as 2021, for Germany 2016 and for the Netherlands 2015.