South east London faces increasing workforce pressures alongside persistent inequalities in access to employment within the health and care sector. While there is strong demand for roles across the system, many local residents—particularly those from underrepresented communities—face structural and practical barriers to entering and progressing within the workforce.

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This work brings together learning from across the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and system partners to identify clear, actionable solutions. It focuses on how partners can work differently—shifting toward more inclusive, community-informed approaches that enable sustainable change.

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Experts by Experience

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SEL VCSE Strategic Alliance partnered with seven specialist ‘By and For’ VCSEs who are embedded in our target groups to co-create the project’s approach and implementation. The seven specialist VCSEs and their communities have taken wide range of approaches to the co-creation process and have spent a period of six months jointly designing and delivering unique collaboration with target communities. All experts taking part in this project have been paid fairly for their time and expertise, and several people have taken on further paid strategic influencing opportunities.

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Key Challenges

Content: Our work identified a set of interconnected challenges affecting access to health and care careers:

• Limited awareness of available roles and career pathways
• Barriers to accessing training, including cost, flexibility, and entry requirements
• Recruitment practices that disadvantage individuals without formal qualifications or sector experience
• Fragmented relationships between employers and community organisations
• Insufficient support for progression once individuals enter the workforce

These challenges disproportionately impact communities already facing inequality, reinforcing gaps in representation across the workforce.

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