While public health workforce development is an evergreen topic, we have seen a recent surge in interest about resources to support this focus area. Inquiries for technical assistance in workforce development from the Public Health Foundation (PHF) more than tripled between May and June 2017. At the June 2017 Public Health Improvement Training, PHF offered a breakout session on Aligning Job Descriptions with Core Competencies. Despite it taking place after the closing plenary, the session drew more than 50 attendees. And it is 2017 report, the National Consortium for Public Health Workforce Development shared recommendations for prioritizing strategic skills.

Several factors are contributing to renewed energy around workforce development:

• Changes to the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) application process, that now require a Workforce Development Plan to be nearly complete at the time the health department submits its application.
• The aging of the public health workforce calls for renewed efforts to attract and retain talent.
• A growing recognition that achieving public health strategic goals depends on strengthening workforce capacity and performance.

Fortunately, the resources to respond to this growing demand are readily available. Examples from PHF include:

• Customized on-site services that take a health department from assessing current strengths and gaps to developing a workforce development plan to implementing and managing that plan over time.
• The Academic Health Department Learning Community and its numerous resources and tools.
• A webinar on how a health department can determine essential core competencies for various job positions and a new tool to help health departments apply the process outlined in the webinar.
• A report on recruitment and retention and the public health workforce by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice.
• The TRAIN Learning Network providing thousands of quality training opportunities to more than 1.75 million professionals who protect and improve the public's health.

To get started with a customized workforce development solution for your organization, contact Margie Beaudry at (202)218-4415, [email protected], or submit your information online.