Here I Am, South West London logo
Here I Am, South West London logo

Welcome to Here I Am: South West London


The NHS in South West London wants to support your career development! The “Here I Am!” survey and online conversation took place between 11 September and 2 October 2023.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
This was a first of its kind opportunity for people in the NHS to tell us about their skills, qualifications, and career aspirations. We are currently analysing the contributions we received!

Here I Am: South West London!

We really care about people being able to use their skills and qualifications to fulfil their aspirations. We care about supporting the social mobility of our staff so that our people have the best possible career. This is why, as an Anchor Institution working through the Mayor’s Skills Academy Programme (MSAP), we led the ‘Here I Am: South West London’ Survey and Big Conversation for NHS staff – an exciting initiative for people in the NHS to speak up about their experiences. 

For 3 weeks in the autumn of 2023, we asked people in the NHS to complete a survey and join our big conversation, aimed at helping us understand their skills, qualifications, and career aspirations. This engagement was the vital first step to understanding how the NHS in South West London can nurture and improve the social mobility prospects of our people. Participation in this campaign is directly informing our understanding of the challenges and solutions in this space and allowing us to better support our staff’s career development.

So, to everyone who came and said “Here I Am!” – who shared their views, lived experiences, and ideas - thank you!

Throughout our engagement, NHS staff across our region were asked to:

  • Respond to a 10-minute survey aiming to understand your skills, qualifications, and aspirations as a baseline measure, and
  • Join our Big Conversation and engage in an anonymised, psychologically safe online discussion with others to co-create an understanding of the challenges we face. 


The conversation is now closed. 
If you'd like to hear more about next steps, please contact us on hereiam@clevertogether.com

Why do we want to know about your skills, qualifications, and aspirations? 

Achieving career progression and growth is not about being at the right place at the right time or knowing the right people. This is ultimately a question of how big people dare to dream, what makes their dreams achievable, and what stunts their growth. There are over 350 different types of jobs in the NHS, from gardener, to receptionist, data entry, to communications, finance, people management, health-care support workers, and more – we want to understand and bridge the gap for all!

This is in the heart of our social mobility perspective to development. Our understanding of social mobility is for you to have the ability to use your skills to the fullest, gain new ones, put your qualifications into practice, and be able to grow as much as you wish without facing barriers to your aspirations. This is your opportunity to help us gain awareness of your needs, your ambitions, your experience, and your path to success!



Why join in?

The first step to making a difference is understanding your lived experiences, the barriers you face, and the changes that are important to you. Taking part means that you allow us to access the knowledge about how you want to grow and develop, what skills you have or want to learn, what qualifications make you stand out, and how we can help you achieve your aspirations. It’s all about understanding the gaps to bridge them!

The NHS in South West London wants to hear about you – your skills, qualifications, ambitions, perspectives, and experience of social mobility. Your responses will directly inform our understanding of the challenges and solutions in this space and allow us to better support our staff’s career development! 


What is our intention? 

The NHS in South West London partnered with Clever Together to gather insight into staff’s skills, qualifications, and aspirations. We engaged NHS staff in the region with a quantitative survey, and a Big Conversation, held between 11 September and 2 October 2023. 

We are currently analysing the thousands of data points from hundreds of participants, to deepen understanding into:

  • The challenges and barriers faced in our workplace,
  • Our people’s skills, qualifications, and the gap with aspirations, and
  • Ideas about interventions needed to bridge this gap and improve social mobility for all.

Ultimately, our aim is to set the NHS in South West London apart as an anchor institution that is truly connected to its workforce and committed to making a difference to social mobility of its people and community. 







How did the Survey and Conversation work? 

The Here I Am: South West London Big Conversation was a bespoke large-scale engagement for NHS staff across the Healthcare system, similar to a traditional in-person workshop, but significantly more inclusive, accessible and transparent. It allows us to involve and hear from more people across the system (not just those who can fit in a physical room) – giving everyone who wants to take part a voice.  

The Big Conversation was held on an interactive online platform, similar to a forum, facilitated by our independent external partner, Clever Together. To create a psychologically safe environment, people could join anonymously, share ideas and comments, and cast votes for ideas and comments they agree or disagree with. 

The Big Conversation was:  

  • Anonymous – your name is not attached to anything you share
  • Open to NHS staff within the South West London ICS - to share views on skills, career growth, aspirations, and many more
  • For everyone to share their views – by posting ideas as well as reading, voting and commenting on the ideas of others
  • Always on - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while the Conversation was live
  • Accessible - from wherever you may be, on any computer, tablet or smartphone