A workforce strategy for social care: Expectations from across the social care sector

About this report

This report draws upon insights gathered at a series of four roundtables SCIE held in autumn 2023 with care providers, commissioners, social workers and local authority Directors of Adult Social Services (DASS) to discuss issues impacting on the social care workforce.  

Within it we highlight key elements from the discussions and make recommendations for the forthcoming social care workforce strategy linked to four key themes which emerged.

• pay and reward
• international recruitment
• training
• retention.

Context

Adult social care has an estimated economic contribution of £55.7 billion per annum to England. The adult social care workforce is significant, with over 1.6 million jobs and is forecasted to grow by almost one-third by 2035.

Despite this, there are many challenges to maintain and support a workforce to deliver social care; supporting people drawing on social care to have choice, control and independence. Recruitment and retention of the workforce remain critical challenges within the sector. Despite a reduction, vacancy rates are at 9.9%, with an estimated 390,000 people having left their roles in 2022-23, with a third of them leaving social care completely (the state of the adult social care sector and workforce 2023).

While there is a recognition that new or amended roles, with extended or changed responsibilities, may be beneficial for the sector, lessons should be learnt from the health sector. Further research is needed to manage and mitigate new and emergent risks, to ensure the care provided and overseen by new or amended roles is safe.

Too often the role of commissioners is overlooked and this role is seen to be critical by many in the sector, in order to secure good outcomes for people drawing on care and support. Investment is needed to ensure commissioners feel valued and supported, and to develop and refine their skills enabling strong relationships to be built with care providers and local care markets to be shaped effectively.

Summary of recommendations

In the summer of 2024, Skills for Care is publishing a comprehensive social care workforce strategy. These plans will help the sector to better support and adapt the workforce in light of how demand for social care, delivery, and the population’s expectations are changing.

The workforce strategy should not seek to introduce roles with new, amended or extended responsibilities without these having been sufficiently researched to ensure they will not have detrimental impacts on the quality and safety of care.

The workforce strategy should:

Pay and reward

• Set out how it intends to tackle low pay within the sector and ensure experienced staff are rewarded for their skills and expertise.
• Consider aligning local authority salary benchmarking with the advertised salaries in health (agenda for change).
• Explore integrated dual roles between health and social care.
• Give guidance to align paid progression with the care workforce pathway for adult social care guidance.
• Promote resourcing for real living wage in commissioning models.

International recruitment

• Consider options to increase flexibility regarding work visas. For example, allowing a work visa to run for three years instead of doing another home office application if there is change of employer.
• Provide guidance for providers regarding engaging with the migration team regarding international recruitment, new asylum applications approved where there is right to work in the country.

Training

• Consider how best to develop new skills areas for the workforce such as digital and data technology while balancing virtual delivery of training and face-to-face practical learning.
• Address the support needed to improve quality of recordings and using digital systems.
• Consider a framework to strengthen commissioning including strategic leadership, evidence-based procurement, ethical commissioning, and practical application skills in adult social care commissioning.
• Develop transferable qualifications for care workers that evidence their transferable skills across roles in the adult social care sector.

Retention

• Encourage providers to stop using zero hours contracts.
• Ensure a meaningful focus on an Equality Diversity and Inclusivity strategy for the workforce.
• Promote a culture that emphasises retaining their staff not just cyclical recruitment.