Category: Project 2025-2027 on Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health

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Activities, Project 2025-2027 on Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health, Projects Hospeem

Call for Tender – Subcontracting external expertise

CALL FOR TENDER: Subcontracting for external expertise Reference Contract of the Commission DLV- 101197678

Date of publication on the HOSPEEM and EPSU website: 08 April 2025

Deadline for submissions: 07 May 2025

Download the Call for tender

Tender Specification

In order to ensure large visibility to this tender, HOSPEEM and EPSU will publish the tender on their websites. This tender will be publicly available for 30 days.

  1. Background:

The recognised European Sectoral Social Partners in the hospital and healthcare sector are EPSU (European Federation of Public Service Unions) and HOSPEEM (European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association). Given the demographic trends in the society, the healthcare sector is facing significant challenges, including an ageing workforce, intra-EU mobility and migration, and the impact of temporary work agencies. Additionally, there is a need for future-proofing skills and career pathways while exploring the potential of digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

The European hospital and healthcare sector is experiencing labour and skills shortages, which have been exacerbated by the demographic changes and COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages are impacting the quality and accessibility of healthcare services across Europe. In response to these challenges, EPSU and HOSPEEM have decided to carrying out a joint project – “Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health”

The project is financially supported by the European Commission, Budget Line SOCPL-2024-SOC-DIALOG – Support for Social Dialogue. It will run for 24 months, starting in April 2025.

The aim of this project is to address the pressing issues of labour and skills shortages and in the European hospital sector. The method will involve a series of workshops which will gather European and national social partners and key stakeholders.

In order to support the project, EPSU and HOSPEEM are seeking the external expertise of (a) consultant(s)/consultancy. The contractor(s) will attend the workshops, gather information on the key challenges, actual or potential solutions, current involvement of the sectoral social partners in addressing the labour and skills shortages.

  1. Tasks to be performed by the contractor

Deliverables:

  • Summary of the second workshop: Attending at the second workshop with the topic of Work-life balance and mental health and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Summary of the third workshop: Attending at the third workshop with the topic of Temporary Work Agency  and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Summary of the fourth workshop: Attending at the fourth workshop with the topic of Digitalisation, future-proofing skills and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Summary of the first workshop, topic:  Attending at the first workshop with the topic of Ageing healthcare workforce, intra-EU mobility and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Summary of the fifth workshop: Attending at the fifth workshop with the topic of Practical solutions in collective bargaining and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Summary of the final conference: Attending at the final conference and summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English
  • Final report: Attending at the Summary of the main points of discussion and identification of key challenges and solutions. The report will be at least 20 page and in English
  • Final report summary: Attending at the Summary of the final report. The report will be at least 5 pages and in English.

The selected expert will:

  • Identify challenges social partners face regarding – as well as good practices addressing staff shortages in the hospital sector. This should include an analysis of factors such as the ageing workforce, intra-EU mobility and migration, the impact of temporary work agencies, and digitalisation.
  • Write effectively and clearly for the target audiences of trade union members and employers
  • Attend workshops and the final project conference.
  • Deliver the reports from the workshops and from the final conference.

In order to perform the tasks listed above, the subcontracted team will be asked to work in total of 25 days.  The consultant(s) will be supported by EPSU and HOSPEEM secretariats.

 

  1. Time schedule and reporting

The project duration is from April 2025 and has an expected duration of 48 months. The workshop reports should be prepared within one month after the workshop. A final project report is required by March 2027.

 

  1. Payments and standard contracts:

The contract will be drawn up between EPSU and the contractor. Payments will be made in three instalments.

The first payment of 25% will be paid upon signing the contract. The second payment of 35% will be paid after the project consortium submits the mid-term report to the commission. Final payment will be made upon completion and submission of the final project report to the Commission.

  • The travel and accommodation expenses for the contractor to attend the project meetings or meeting with the social partners will be covered by the overall travel and accommodation budget of the project.

The accommodation and transfers will be under economy class and according to the travelling chart made by the European Commission which can be found in the Grant Agreement.

Duration of the contract:

The consultant(s) will be engaged to perform the above-mentioned tasks starting in June 2025. The study should be completed by the end of the project (estimated as March 2027) when the results should be presented with the final report.

Expertise required

  • At least 3 years of experience in the field of labour market and industrial relations, with a focus on national and European social dialogue;
  • Knowledge of the European hospital and healthcare sector, with a specific focus on staff shortages,, and the challenges faced by the healthcare workforce and services.
  • Familiarity with issues such as the ageing workforce, intra-EU mobility and migration, skills, the impact of temporary work agencies, work-life balance, and the role of digitalisation in healthcare.
  • Good analytical, communication, and organisational skills to carry out the tasks as specified above. Previous experience or familiarity with the work of (European) Social Partners is preferable.
  • Significant knowledge of carrying out similar tasks in relevant EU projects;
  • Perform the tasks in English. All official deliverables/outcomes/communications produced by the expert shall be made in excellent written English.

Price

The total funding for this work is 30 000,00 EUR (all taxes and charges included).

Selection criteria:

The offers received to the call for tender will be examined by the HOSPEEM and EPSU Secretariats – which can decide to also consult with representatives of EPSU affiliates and HOSPEEM members, where appropriate – based on the following criteria:

The offer received will be examined on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Verifiable expertise, experience and skills, as required and described above;
  • Proven knowledge/evidence track record of research (supported by publications, academic articles, etc.)
  • Respect the budgetary contraints and timeline.

 

  1. Content presentation of the tender:

Tenders must be written in English. They must be signed by the tenderer or his duly authorised representative and be perfectly legible so that there can be no doubt as to words and figures. Tenders must be clear and concise.

They must make it clear under specific headings that they are able to meet the requirements of the specifications. All tenders must include at least two sections:

i) Technical proposal

The technical proposal must provide all the information needed for the purpose of awarding the contract, including:

  • Description of relevant professional experience with emphasis on the specific fields covered by the invitation to tender;
  • A detailed CV of the tenderer involved in the project activities;
  • Proof of Knowledge of the European hospital and healthcare sector
  • Proof of Knowledge of EU Health and Social Policies
  • Presentation of the methodology and approach that will be taken to the report
  • Previous experience and familiarity with the work of (European) Social Partners and European Social Dialogue Committees

English language proficiency/proficiency to deliver the project outcomes in proficient English.

ii) Financial proposal

Prices of the financial proposal must be quoted in euros, including if the sub-contractor is based in a country which is not in the euro-area. As far as the tenderers of those countries are concerned, they cannot change the amount of the bid because of the evolution of the exchange rate. The tenderers choose the exchange rate and assume all risks or opportunities relating to the rate fluctuation.

Prices shall be fixed and not subject to revision during the performance of the contract.

Award criteria:

Offers must be received within 30 days of the date of publication of this call for tender by EPSU (07 May April 2025). Offers must be sent to EPSU in electronic (by email to acociancich@epsu.org).

The contract will be awarded on the basis of the contractor that submits the bid demonstrating the best value for money, taking into account all the selection criteria. No award will be made if the bidders fail to achieve 70% in the evaluation of the bids against the selection criteria. The principles of transparency and equal treatment with a view to avoiding any conflict of interest will be respected.

FINANCE 4 EPSR, Project 2025-2027 on Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health, Projects Hospeem

HOSPEEM-EPSU Joint Project on Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health

Start Date: 01 April 2025

Duration: 24 Months

Description of the project:

Tackling Staff Shortages and Ensuring Future-Proofing Skills in Health (TaSSEFSH) is a joint project between the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM), representing at European level national employers’ organisations in the hospital and healthcare sector.

The aim is to collect and exchange good practices from social partners across Europe that address the massive challenges posed by increasing staff shortages that most health providers face. They are finding it difficult to recruit new staff and to retain skilled and experienced workers. The demographic trends in most countries are driving increased demand at the same time as large cohort of health workers come up for retirement.  Understanding the different dynamics and consequences of labour shortages and future-proofing skills in the hospital and healthcare sector at play matters across Europe to deliver quality care, now and in the next decennia.  The evolving landscape of the healthcare sector requires support for skills, training and education.

Through a series of six meetings involving trade unions and employers from across Europe the project will explore the various factors behind labour and skills shortages and exchange good practices. An external consultant will be contracted to follow the project, report on all the meetings and draft a final briefing that will summarise the key debates and focus on the potential solutions.

The discussions and debates will cover:

  • Ageing of the healthcare workforce: In 11 countries of the European region, a significant demographic shift is imminent as at least 40% of doctors are aged over 55 and are expected to retire in the coming decade. The European Commission Ageing Report 2021 highlights Italy as having the highest participation rate among older population in 2019 with one of the highest percentages of health workers aged 50 and above at 42%, compared to the European average of 36%. The meeting will debate how to attract and retain experienced healthcare workforce while fostering the recruitment of young healthcare professionals. It will include case studies provided by EPSU and HOSPEEM member organisations.
  • Intra-EU mobility and migration: The free movement of labour stands as an achievement of the European Union, aligning with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights promoting labour mobility across borders. While some countries experience a negative impact from labour migration, others benefit from the enhanced workforce mobility and cross-border collaboration. Factors such as social benefits, level of pay, working conditions, skills development can play pivotal roles in shaping the healthcare workforce landscape. Additionally, language proficiency serves as a compelling incentive, as evidenced by countries like Ireland leveraging language requirements to attract healthcare professionals. Despite investing in training their health workforce, some countries, especially in Eastern and Central Europe experience staff shortages due to healthcare workers deciding to move to another country. EPSU and HOSPEEM agreed on guidelines for ethical cross-border recruitment in 2008 and this project will contribute to the renewal of the commitment of social partners to promote, guarantee and defend decent recruitment and working conditions for workers from and outside the EU. The workshop will explore what can be done to inspire workers to stay in their country of origin and to support migrant workers and intra- EU mobile workers in receiving countries.
  • Temporary work agencies: In order to deal with staff shortages EU policymakers need to consider the role of a diverse workforce, including private employment agencies that have placed 12.4 million people in labour markets in Europe (11.2 million participated through temporary agency work which had implications for the labour market). Many EU Member States find themselves compelled to use the services of temporary work agencies and thus often compensate for the staff shortages in hospitals. Although temporary work agencies can improve the situation with limited work capacity of healthcare professionals, some countries are experiencing a situation in which companies are exploiting the scarcity of healthcare profiles to establish profitable businesses. For instance, temporary staffing companies actively recruit nurses who are currently employed on permanent contracts, offering them additional benefits on top of their current salary, and allowing them to demand more regarding their schedules. This leads to unequal salary and working conditions between permanent and temporary staff in the workplace. The workshop will consider how the health care sector can become more resilient and make relations with the temporary work agencies more balanced again and what alternatives can be provided by the health sector.
  • Digitalisation: During the pandemic digitalisation helped reduce exposure to the virus and ease administrative burdens. The Social Partners underline that digitalisation will never replace human care delivery. Instead, it can lighten the workload, which can create more time for effective and quality care. The workshop will focus on how digitalisation and AI can softenstaff shortages and support health staff in doing their job while ensuring the protection of workers and patients.
  • Future-proofing skills and career pathways: Future-proofing skills and career pathways for the healthcare workforce is crucial in order to navigate in evolving landscape of the sector. The EU action plan on Labour and Skills shortages includes support for skills, training and education as one of the key policy areas to tackle staff shortages. Emphasising continuous learning and developing soft skills can improve patient-centred care and create a pool of well-trained and motivated healthcare workforce. The corresponding Joint Declaration on Continuous Professional Development and Life-long Learning signed by HOSPEEM and EPSU in 2016 acknowledges the connection between investments in LLL and CPD and improving the quality of training, which in turn improves the attractiveness of the sector.
  • Practical solutions in collective bargaining: Collective bargaining addresses the multifaceted challenges facing the healthcare workforce. Practical solutions can be identified and implemented to improve working conditions and enhance job satisfaction. The workshop will consider how social partners can design innovative solution to address staff shortages through collective agreements.
  • Work-life balance: The updated Framework of Action on Recruitment and Retention agreed between EPSU and HOSPEEM called for Member States to develop supporting infrastructures to facilitate work- life balance in a 24/7 service delivery context. It also said that to facilitate the full participation of men and women in the labour market, healthcare employers and social partners should take measures and develop policies that will improve workers’ work-life balance. The workshop will discuss the measures that social partners and governments have introduced to increase retention of personnel.
  • Mental health: The pandemic put more stress on health workers, with many of them reporting burnouts or considering leaving the sector. The sector is not resilient with a health workforce reporting stress overload. This workshop will exchange on good examples on mental health support for healthcare workforce and what impact it has on staff retention.
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