Workforce development activities play a key role in building efficiency and effectiveness within public health organizations and thus in ensuring the health of the population. As in any organization, the performance of health departments and other public health entities is closely tied to the competence of their workforce. Within the field of public health, skills desired for professionals delivering the Essential Public Health Services (EPHS) are detailed in the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies). This consensus set of competencies was developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages), a collaborative of 19 national public health organizations, and exists as a foundation for the broad practice of public health.

The Core Competencies serve as a starting point for many public health organizations trying to better understand and meet their workforce development needs. Efforts are ongoing to produce tools and other resources to help organizations integrate the Core Competencies into their workforce development activities. Through its Core Competencies Workgroup, the Council on Linkages is developing a collection of Core Competencies-related tools that will be freely accessible online. Resources currently available include:

• A Crosswalk of the Core Competencies and the Essential Public Health Services, illustrating the relationship between individual competencies and the EPHS;
• Competency Assessments to help public health professionals determine their level of knowledge and skill with respect to each of the competencies; and
• The 3-Step Competency Prioritization Sequence, a quality improvement process for focusing workforce development efforts on areas that address gaps in workforce strengths, while advancing organizational goals.

In addition to these existing tools, a number of other resources are under development:

• Demonstrating Attainment of Competence

To complement self-assessments of competence, the Council on Linkages is working to draft examples of how an individual might demonstrate attainment of competence in a specific area. For a preview, examples have been provided in this earlier draft for a single competency in each of the eight Core Competencies domains. This draft document is being updated with additional examples.

• Competency-Based Job Descriptions

Job descriptions play a key role in recruiting and guiding the work of public health professionals. Incorporating the Core Competencies into job descriptions is a valuable way to tie work activities to specific skills and help ensure the right fit for a position. To help facilitate this process, the Council on Linkages will be providing sample competency-based job descriptions that organizations can reference as they craft their own.

• Core Competencies E.G.s

The Core Competencies currently includes a number of examples or “e.g.s” to offer context for the competency statements; where appropriate, additional examples will be added.

• Strengthening Cultural Competency

A more in-depth resource will provide guidance related to the Cultural Competency Skills domain of the Core Competencies.

All of these resources will be made available to public health professionals and organizations in either draft or final form as they are completed. Watch the Core Competencies Tools webpage or the Council on Linkages’ newsletter for updates. For more information about any of these tools or to subscribe to the Council on Linkages Update newsletter, please contact Council on Linkages Project Manager Kathleen Amos at [email protected].