Skills for Care's Social Care Workforce Strategy

On 18 July, Skills for Care launched their Social Care Workforce Strategy. The recommendations and commitments of the national, fifteen-year strategy are focused around three core themes: attracting and retaining staff, training, and transformation.  

The strategy was developed over a 9-month period and includes costings, with its three themes intentionally aligned with those of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. A wide variety of organisations from across the health and care system fed into the strategy’s development, including NHS Employers, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Local Government Association, NHS England, Royal College of Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Care Quality Commission, Integrated Care Boards, Social Work England, Unison and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. 

At the strategy’s launch event, Skills for Care presented the latest data demonstrating the impact and composition of the social care workforce: 

• Impact on the economy: The social care workforce contributes approximately £60 billon to the economy per year and employs 5.4% of the labour market in England 
• Domestic vs international: The social care sector employs 105,000 international recruits. 2023-2024 saw an increase of 25,000 international recruits compared to the previous year. There has been a 70,000 decrease in the number of British social care workers in the last two years. 
• Vacancy rates: On any given day there is a social care workforce vacancy rate estimated at 131,000 (8.3%). It is estimated that an extra 540,000 posts will be required by 2040, a 29% increase, to cope with rising demands for care 

Read on for a selection of the strategy’s key recommendations: 

Key recommendations for attracting and retaining social care staff include:  

• An ask for the Government to take action on pay, terms and conditions 
• Taking action on annual investment in social care workforce wages 
• The strategy includes costed wage options, demonstrating the anticipated return on investment over 15 years 
• Each wage option presented demonstrates the estimated cost savings to the NHS, as well as savings due to avoided recruitment costs, plus wellbeing benefits.  
• There are estimates for how many people could be recruited and retained respectively based on each wage option  
• Strategic, cross-government action on a 10-year attraction plan for social care sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care 

Key recommendations focused around training include:  

• Investment in high-quality development- including new skills and overhauling apprenticeships – with a 3-year funding commitment 
• A national framework for career progression for social workers, occupational therapists and registered nurses working in social care 
• A leadership development roadmap for social care managers 
• Streamlined mandatory training requirements set by Skills for Care and the Care Quality Commission  

Key recommendations focused on transformation include:  

• Introducing a legislative basis for the Workforce Strategy- and a central body for implementation  
• Support for Integrated Care System workforce planning that promotes a “one workforce” approach and analyses future needs 
• Gathering evidence on the impacts and potential models of a workforce registration scheme 

The strategy recognises the need to improve the social care workforce’s digital, data and technology skills, as well as the need for increased digital transformation in workforce practices to improve care and productivity. 

In this vein, the strategy: 

• Provides indicative returns costings for every £1 of investment on technological interventions, with analysis demonstrating that investment in any type of digital technology in the adult social care sector would yield significant benefits for providers, the NHS and people drawing on care and support
• Recommends adopting a partnership approach to expand access to digital skills training across the workforce 
• Recommends that the Association of Colleges and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers should support the higher education sector to offer programmes on the use of digital, data, technology and AI in social care 
• Recommends piloting a ‘care technologist’ role 

As the strategy enters its delivery phase, key stakeholders involved in the strategy’s development are due to continue their work, focusing on implementation of the recommendations.  

_____________

Addressing the digital skills gap to open the opportunities of the digital economy to everyone is one of techUK’s Seven Tech Priorities which outline the range of opportunities that the Government can harness by working with the tech sector- click here to find out more!