Introduction
WFOT led a multistage development process to develop the Global Strategy for strengthening the occupational therapy workforce.
This global framework articulates key strategic development directions that aim to inform and guide the development of national or local context-sensitive situation assessments, priorities, and action plans. The Global Strategy is expected to be used by professional organisations, educators, regulators, researchers, governments, policymakers and non-government organisations, including WFOT. The Global Strategy can be viewed online or the entire document can be downloaded from the WFOT Resources.
Strategic Directions
The Global Strategy for the Occupational Therapy Workforce has a three-level structure with seven major strategic directions, each with two to four specific actions, plus examples of tasks to operationalize the strategic and specific guidance into practice. The aim, problem, opportunity and long and short-term objectives are explained for each strategic direction.
Strategic Direction 1: Strengthening Workforce Data
Improving the availability and accuracy of occupational therapy workforce data is essential for effective workforce planning, monitoring, and development. Reliable data helps identify workforce needs and guide policy-making.
Strategic Direction 2: Addressing Supply Shortages
Aligning occupational therapy workforce data with population needs and health system demands is crucial for identifying gaps in service provision and addressing workforce supply shortages.
Strategic Direction 3: Expanding the Workforce
Investing in occupational therapy education and local capacity is vital for workforce expansion, particularly in underserved regions. Efforts focus on growing education programmes and managing workforce deployment.
Strategic Direction 4: Ensuring Equitable Access
Addressing workforce distribution imbalances ensures equitable access to occupational therapy services across geographic regions and practice areas, with a focus on underserved populations.
Strategic Direction 5: Ensuring Competency and Diversity
Workforce planning must ensure occupational therapists meet competency standards, are engaged in their work, and reflect the diversity of the populations they serve, while eliminating barriers to opportunities.
Strategic Direction 6: Using Evidence for Policy
Developing workforce research and using evidence-based data to inform policies and management practices is essential for strengthening the occupational therapy workforce and meeting population needs.
Strategic Direction 7: Building Leadership Capacity
Developing strong leaders is key to advancing workforce strategies. Empowering occupational therapy professionals to lead workforce development initiatives strengthens the profession on local, national, and global levels.
Global Occupational Therapy Workforce Resource Hub
To advance accessibility to occupational therapy, WFOT developed a hub of resources that can assist with addressing the priority actions and goals articulated in the Global Strategy for the Occupational Therapy Workforce. The Occupational Therapy Workforce Resource Hub contains resources developed by WFOT and other organisations.
Contribute
WFOT welcomes your submissions to the Hub that are relevant to workforce planning in occupational therapy.