Ealing Council advances workforce strategy with focus on skills, EDI and recruitment

Ealing Council advances workforce strategy with focus on skills, EDI and recruitment

Ealing Council is implementing a comprehensive workforce strategy aimed at developing new skills, enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and improving recruitment and retention.

The council is making significant strides in strengthening management capabilities. The People Manager Fundamentals programme has seen the majority of managers below grade 15, totalling 402 individuals, participate. For aspiring managers, the Rise Up programme has successfully completed its first cohort of 15 delegates, who are now being supported to pursue career progression opportunities. Further initiatives to boost career development include apprenticeships and a work experience program that provided placements for 330 young people in 2026.

To address recruitment and retention challenges, Ealing Council has introduced a range of family-friendly policies. These include enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave, offering more generous paid time off. Additionally, the council has implemented rental and childcare nursery deposit loans. Other reviewed or introduced policies aimed at supporting employees include Neonatal Care Leave and Pay, a Care Leaver and Kinship Policy, Foster Friendly Employer registration, an updated Grievance Policy & Procedure, Recruitment & Selection Guidelines, and Guaranteed Interview Schemes for individuals with disabilities and care experience.

The EDI agenda is being advanced through updated website content, dedicated training modules, and achieving White Ribbon Accreditation. Community engagement is also a key focus, with role profiles being updated to emphasize partnership working and residents being involved in recruitment panels.

Councillor Ben Wesson highlighted the importance of data on workforce representation, particularly in senior roles, and suggested further analysis against public sector averages. Councillor Shaira Karimi underscored the need for ongoing collaboration between councillors and officers and the integration of advanced technology to improve service delivery and resident engagement. In this vein, the council is exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with Magic notes being implemented in social care roles to enhance service delivery. Tools like Beam AI assist social workers in recording, transcribing, and summarising conversations, thereby reducing administrative burdens and improving the creation of care plans. The council is also rolling out Co-pilot and Windows 11 to further leverage technology.

In response to questions about agency staff, it was noted that Ealing Council has significantly reduced its reliance on agency workers, from 814 in February 2025 to 423. However, challenges persist in recruiting for specialist roles, such as surveyors and social workers. The council's strategy to address this includes an Ealing First approach to apprenticeships, prioritising local residents and committing to employing 30 apprentices per year with clear pathways to permanent roles. Efforts are also underway to transition agency workers to permanent employment after 12 weeks through their preferred supplier, ADECO, at no additional cost. The council is also focusing on developing internal talent through apprenticeships and graduate routes. Despite these efforts, it is acknowledged that agencies can offer more competitive rates, and surveyors, in particular, may prefer interim roles due to higher remuneration.

Further details on the council's workforce strategy can be found in the Draft minutesStrategy Change21 July 2026 and the Public reports pack Tuesday 20-Oct-2026 19.00 Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel.