Successful health workforce planning depends on more than technical tools—it requires skilled planners with the capacity to understand, anticipate, and respond to complex workforce challenges. The Planners domain of HEROES focuses on developing the collective capabilities of workforce planning teams through leadership, systems thinking, strategic and financial planning, and the ability to anticipate future workforce trends.

The component promotes expertise across the full workforce planning cycle, including workforce development, recruitment, retention, and change management. It also strengthens planners’ competencies in data collection, analytics, and the application of forecasting and modelling tools. Equally important is the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with stakeholders across healthcare, education, policy, and regulatory sectors.

By supporting institutional continuity, knowledge transfer, succession planning, and lifelong learning, HEROES helps create a common workforce planning language and builds sustainable planning capacity across the health system.