An update on the RCVS Workforce Project

What is the Workforce Project? 

Our Workforce Project brings together all our upstream regulation work (that is, our supportive and preventative work) under one umbrella – illustrating that there is no clear dividing line between our statutory and Royal College functions – demonstrating the importance of supportive, preventative approaches to modern professional regulation.

Launched back in 2021 with our Workforce Summit – the project initially aimed to find solutions to the workforce crisis through addressing issues impacting the sector at that time. It planned to take a holistic approach to tackle the problem, involving as many stakeholders as possible, naturally focusing more on the upstream supportive and preventative forms of regulation, than our downstream core activities, such as disciplinary processes and maintenance of the registers.

The summit event resulted in the creation of the ‘Workforce Action Plan’ centred around seven ambitions to help strengthen the workforce.

With the publication of our 2024 Workforce model, the data has given us an insight into the different areas of veterinary professions and anticipated numbers over the next ten years. 

With numbers of veterinary professionals predicted to be on the rise – the story is looking more positive, however this isn’t to say that there isn’t more work to be done in specific areas, especially within the area of public health, and ensuring that people find a career in which they can thrive 

Why is it still needed? 

While the workforce may no longer be facing such extreme challenges as those experienced in the COVID and BREXIT years, our supportive and preventative activities continue to make up a vital part of our work - ensuring we can effectively support our registrants to meet professional standards.

It is these activities that allow us to prevent harms in the first place, as well as address harms when they have happened. We’re therefore keen to highlight how these supportive and preventative activities underpin our role as a compassionate and effective regulator, and why active involvement from stakeholders across the sector is essential.

While we are the regulator, strengthening the veterinary workforce cannot be done by us alone, indeed certain issues or solutions are outside our remit. As our Strategic Plan makes clear, we are stronger together, and so we continue to collaborate with representative bodies and organisations to ensure that we can share our insight, and continue to learn from others.

Our workforce animation highlights examples of the work taking place each day across the College as part of the Workforce Project, illustrating the importance of collaborative, forward-looking and supportive regulation, via the seven ambitions of the Workforce Action Plan.

Further information on some of the projects sitting under each ambition can be found below.