Ealing Council struggles to recruit and retain specialist staff amidst aging workforce and market competition
Ealing Council is grappling with significant challenges in recruiting and retaining specialist staff, a situation exacerbated by an aging workforce and the need to adapt to evolving skill requirements.
The Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel heard on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, that while Ealing Council's Workforce Strategy has made progress in areas such as management capability, career progression, and equality, diversity, and inclusion, persistent difficulties remain in attracting and keeping professionals in specialist roles. The meeting, detailed in the Public reports pack Tuesday 20-Oct-2026 19.00 Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel, also highlighted specific strategies aimed at bringing in younger talent.
Despite initiatives like family-friendly policies, rental deposit loans, and a 25-year long service award, the council continues to face competition in the labour market, particularly for roles such as surveyors and social workers. This can lead to vacancies remaining open for extended periods and an increased reliance on agency workers.
Concerns were also raised about the council's age demographic, with approximately 50% of the workforce being over 45 and only 2.6% aged between 16 and 24. This presents a potential risk of losing institutional knowledge and highlights the need to attract younger talent. To address this, the council is implementing concrete strategies to attract younger individuals. These include a commitment to 30 apprenticeships per year, with an Ealing First
approach prioritizing local residents to ensure clearer pathways to permanent roles, such as for social workers. Furthermore, an extended work experience programme in 2026 hosted 330 young people from Ealing schools within the council. An initiative called the Urban Hack Programme
also aims to engage teenagers by having them work with academics to solve council-related problems, thereby educating them about council work and potential future careers.
In response to questions about agency staff, it was noted that the council has reduced its reliance from 814 in February 2025 to 423. The council's preferred supplier, ADECO, allows for permanent recruitment after 12 weeks at no additional cost. However, the competitive market means agencies can sometimes offer more attractive rates, contributing to the recruitment challenges.
Looking ahead, the council is developing a refreshed workforce strategy to build on progress and address these ongoing challenges, with a focus on adapting to changing skill requirements, including digital, data, and AI, and ensuring workforce wellbeing amidst financial pressures. The Draft minutesStrategy Change21 July 2026 also provides further context on the panel's discussions.