Meeting the demand for skilled and experienced humanitarian workers

Abstract

The humanitarian aid sector faces a growing skills shortage, at a time when it aspires to expand the scale, quality, and impact of its response to humanitarian needs. Rapid staff turnover has been identified as one of the major constraints on both staff capacity building and organisational learning. A study undertaken for Oxfam GB supports previous findings that traditional human-resource practices in the humanitarian field, with many staff employed on short-term contracts, have inhibited skills development and constrained programme and organisational learning.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Barbara Wilson, CAFOD; Ros Macvean, CARE International; Joy Schiferaw, CARE US; Susan Riehl, International Rescue Committee (IRC); Mark Hammersley, Gates Emergency Capacity Building Project; Jane Cotton, Belinda Duff, and Ivan Scott, OGB; Jonathan Potter, People In Aid; David Bryer, Toby Porter, and Rachel Westcott, SCF UK.

Notes

1. In addition to works cited in this summary, samples of the key literature are listed below.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Frances Richardson

Frances Richardson is Reward Manager at Oxfam GB, and a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and of the Royal Society of Arts. She has written guides to reward strategy for the CIPD and People in Aid.