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Chief Executive, Skills for Care
Email oonagh.smyth@skillsforcare.org.uk
Oonagh Smyth is CEO of Skills for Care. For seven years she was Executive Director of Strategy and Influence at Mencap leading a directorate of around 500 people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Oonagh has held roles at the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action and the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, senior roles in Westminster Equalities Partnership and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. She is a former Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance, which is a cross-sector alliance of 80 social care organisations influencing at the highest government levels.
Why learning and development matters and how you can #KeepLearning in 2024
11 Jan 2024
As we launch our #KeepLearning campaign our CEO Oonagh Smyth discusses why it’s important to #KeepLearning and how Skills for Care can support you in …read more
Learning and development
Skills for Care
Thank you for contributing to our ‘State of’ report for 2023
12 Oct 2023
As we launch this year’s ‘State of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report, our CEO Oonagh Smyth gives thanks to the adult socia…read more
ASC-WDS
Why we need to recruit a new demographic into a career in care
14 Sep 2023
Our CEO, Oonagh Smyth, discusses the importance of attracting a new demographic into a career in care, including more men and younger people. read more
Culture and diversity
Recruitment
Why knowing more about the great people who work in care matters
12 Jul 2023
Did you know that there are around 1.6 million dedicated and highly skilled people working in adult social care? Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care,…read more
Workforce planning
Workforce intelligence
Next steps for the Care workforce pathway for adult social care
26 Jun 2023
As the call for evidence for the new care workforce pathway closes, Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care and Anna Boaden, Deputy Director Department of …read more
Retention
Workforce development
What integration means for social care
25 May 2023
In this joint blog from Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth and Director of System and Social Partnership at NHS Employers Rebecca Smith, they discuss wh…read more
Integration
Policy
Why we’re #CelebratingSocialCare this April
03 Apr 2023
As we launch our #CelebratingSocialCare spotlight, our CEO Oonagh Smyth shares why it’s so important for us to celebrate social care and why we’d love…read more
Reflections and lessons on workforce capacity in adult social care
19 Dec 2022
Our CEO Oonagh Smyth recently attended the Leading Age conference in Denver. She reflects on key takeaways from the event. read more
Leadership
Update - Our pledge supporting full and equal contribution at events from people who draw on social care
26 Jul 2022
Our CEO Oonagh Smyth looks at what we have been doing to make good on our pledge to ask organisers of events to ensure full and equal contribution fro…read more
Oonagh Smyth: celebrating the social care workforce
13 Apr 2022
Our CEO Oonagh Smyth reflects on what we’ve learnt about people working in adult social care during the pandemic and what’s next for the sector as we …read more