Welcome to the NHS Scotland Parental Employability Hub
This hub brings together the guidance, tools and resources developed through the NHS Scotland Parental Employability Framework to support NHS Boards in designing and delivering parental employability pathways. It includes practical guidance, implementation tools, case studies and supporting resources to help organisations create accessible routes into employment for parents and carers, strengthen workforce sustainability and contribute to reducing child poverty across Scotland.
Whether you work in workforce planning, recruitment, employability, workforce development or service management, you'll find resources to support every stage of programme development and delivery.
Explore on this site:
- Quick Start Guide
- NHS Scotland Parental Employability Framework
- Executive Summary
- Pathway Design Guide
- Practical Examples and Case Studies
- Parental Employability Task and Finish Group
- Supporting Resources and Tools
Have a question or suggestion?
If you have any questions about the information provided, or if you think additional content would be helpful, please contact the Centre for Workforce Supply at nes.cwsmarketing@nhs.scot.
Quick Start Guide
| If you want to... | Resource | What you'll find |
|---|---|---|
| Understand the framework and strategic context | Executive Summary | A concise overview of the NHS Parental Employability Framework, including contribution to reducing chile poverty, key principles, success factors, strategic priorities and intended outcomes. |
| Access the full framework and implementation guidance | NHS Parental Employability Framework | The full framework, setting out the strategic policy intent of NHS parental employability programmes and their contribution to the mission to reduce child poverty. Includes guidance on workforce planning, partnership working, funding, recruitment, parent-friendly workplaces, monitoring and evaluation. |
| Design or support programme delivery | Pathway Design Guide | Practical advice on pathway design, recruitment, onboarding, induction, participant support and progression planning. |
| Learn from existing programmes and good practice | Practical Examples and Case Studies | Real-world examples from NHS Boards and national organisations, including outcomes, success factors, challenges and lessons learned. |
| Support managers and participants | Managers Guide, Participants Guide and Training Resources | Practical tools, checklists, training materials and guidance to support successful programme delivery and participant experience. |
| Understand governance and stakeholder involvement | Parental Employability Task and Finish Group | The NHS Parental Employability Task and Finish Group reported to the Anchors Workforce Strategic Group and the Health and Social Care Child Poverty Leadership Group. Governance and oversight were supported by the PHS Parental Employability Steering Group, which acted as a reference group and helped shape the framework and supporting outputs through ongoing feedback and engagement. Read information on the organisations and partners involved in developing the framework and supporting implementation. |
Understand how Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) operate | Local Employability Partnership Framework | National guidance on the purpose, governance, leadership, partnership working, accountability and performance of LEPs. The framework sets out good practice expectations, roles and responsibilities, and guidance on building strong local partnerships to support employability outcomes. |
Strengthen collaboration between NHS Boards and Local Employability Partnerships | LEP-Health Board Engagement Framework | A jointly developed framework outlining the roles, responsibilities and commitments of both Health Boards and LEPs. It provides practical guidance to improve communication, strategic engagement, workforce planning, funding awareness and partnership working at a local level |
Top Tip: If you're new to parental employability, start with the Executive Summary, then explore the Framework and Pathway Design Guide before moving on to the case studies and supporting resources.
NHS Scotland Parental Employability Framework
The NHS Parental Employability Framework provides NHS Boards with a practical, evidence-based approach to designing and delivering parental employability pathways. Developed through collaboration between NHS Scotland, Scottish Government, Local Authorities and employability partners, the framework supports Boards to create accessible routes into employment for parents and carers, helping to reduce child poverty, strengthen workforce sustainability and enhance the NHS role as an Anchor Institution.
It includes guidance on pathway design, partnership working, workforce planning, inclusive recruitment, parent-friendly workplaces, funding, and monitoring and evaluation, alongside learning from parental employability programmes across Scotland.
Download the NHS Parental Employability Framework Core Resources:
Practical Examples and Case Studies
The case studies demonstrate how parental employability pathways can support parents into sustainable employment while helping organisations address workforce needs, strengthen partnerships and contribute to reducing child poverty.
| Resource | Description | Key areas covered |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health Scotland Parental Employment Project: Interim evaluation and learning report | Presents the early findings and learning from the Public Health Scotland Parental Employment Project, a partnership pathway designed to widen access to NHS employment for lone parents across Scotland. | • Early participant experiences and outcomes • Partnership working and delivery model • Barriers and enablers to parental employability • Initial lessons learned and opportunities for improvement • Emerging evidence to inform future pathways |
| Public Health Scotland Parental Employment Project - Final Evaluation Report | Provides a comprehensive evaluation of the Parental Employment Project, building on the interim findings and assessing both participant outcomes and the programme's wider contribution to establishing sustainable parental employability pathways across NHS Scotland. | • Participant employment, training and progression outcomes • Programme impact and effectiveness • Partnership and stakeholder feedback • Lessons learned and recommendations • Opportunities for scaling and embedding parental employability pathways within NHS Scotland |
| NHS Parental Employability Framework – Annex C – Practical Examples | Showcases examples of parental employability programmes delivered across NHS Scotland, demonstrating how boards have developed and implemented local employability pathways. | • Real-world programme examples • Project objectives and delivery approaches • Outcomes and impact achieved • Success factors and good practice • Challenges, learning and practical considerations for implementation |
| Synthesizing Learning for Parental Employability Pathways in Health Boards | Brings together learning from parental employability pathways delivered across Scottish health boards to identify what works well, common challenges and opportunities for future development. | • Key themes from pathway delivery across Scotland • Effective approaches to recruitment and support • Barriers and challenges experienced by participants and employers • Partnership and system-level learning • Recommendations for strengthening future parental employability initiatives |
Download the Examples and Case Studies Resource:
Parental Employability Task and Finish Group
The group provide strategic leadership, subject matter expertise and practical insight, ensuring the framework reflects learning from employability programmes across Scotland and supports NHS Boards to develop effective parental employability pathways.
| Resource | Description | Key areas covered |
|---|---|---|
| Parental Employability Task and Finish Group | Details of the organisations and members who contributed to the development of the NHS Scotland Parental Employability Framework. | Group membership; partner organisations; governance; stakeholder representation; framework development. |
Download the Parental Employability Framework Task and Finish Group Membership List:
Supporting Resources
These supporting resources have been developed to help NHS Boards, managers and participants successfully deliver and participate in parental employability programmes. They provide practical guidance, checklists, training materials and signposting to support effective onboarding, programme delivery, participant wellbeing and progression into sustainable employment.
| Resource | Description | Key areas covered |
|---|---|---|
| Managers Guide | A practical guide to support line managers hosting parental employability placements. It outlines key responsibilities before, during and after the placement, and provides checklists, support information and guidance to help participants succeed. | Induction and onboarding; manager responsibilities; flexible working; participant support; progression planning; checklists; policies and contacts. |
| Managers Guide PowerPoint | Download the PowerPoint editable version to adapt for your Board. | Induction and onboarding; manager responsibilities; flexible working; participant support; progression planning; checklists; policies and contacts. |
| Participants Guide | A welcome and support guide for participants, providing practical information about the programme, flexible working, training opportunities, available support and planning for future employment. | Starting a placement; training and development; flexible working; wellbeing support; future employment planning; participant checklist. |
| Participants Guide | Download the PowerPoint editable version to adapt for your Board. | Starting a placement; training and development; flexible working; wellbeing support; future employment planning; participant checklist. |
| Manager Training Slides | Presentation materials to support the delivery of manager briefings and training sessions. The slides provide an overview of parental employability, programme objectives, roles and responsibilities, available support and expected outcomes. | Anchor Institutions; child poverty and employability; programme overview; roles and responsibilities; support arrangements; manager engagement. |
Download the Supporting Resources:
Explore the NHS Scotland Parental Employability Hub
