15-Year Strategy for Adult Social Care Workforce in England announced

Workforce Strategy July 2024

The newly released 15-year strategy for the adult social care workforce in England, spearheaded by Skills for Care and a steering group of sector leaders, emphasizes the urgent need for increased government funding. This strategy aims to address persistently high vacancy and turnover rates by boosting funding for social work bursaries, placements, and apprenticeships. Key contributors to the strategy include former chief social worker for adults Lyn Romeo, BASW chief executive Ruth Allen, and Social Work England's Colum Conway.

Current Workforce Challenges

1.        Increasing Demand:

o   Population aged over 65 to grow by almost a third in the next decade.

o   Significant increase in individuals aged 18-64 with learning disabilities, mental health needs, or physical disabilities.

o   Higher prevalence of multiple conditions among the elderly (60% of those aged 75 and 75% of those aged 85-89).

2.        Vacancies and Turnover:

o   In 2023-24, there were 131,000 vacancies daily, a rate of 8.3%, which is three times the economy's average.

o   High turnover with over a quarter leaving their jobs annually and a third exiting the sector.

o   An aging workforce with 29% over the age of 55, indicating potential retirements in the next decade.

3.        Global Competition for Labour:

o   International demographic changes intensifying competition for social care workers.

o   Potential reduction in foreign recruitment as source countries retain more workers.

The Role of Training and Development

Learning and development is key to the provision of high quality care. The Strategy recognises that everyone working in social care should have the chance to develop, learn and grow in their role. Learning and development opportunities also support good quality social care and retention. 

The Strategy identifies six priority actions needed to support the provision of quality learning and development:

1.        Career development and competency frameworks

2.        Supporting the development of care workers

3.        Apprenticeships

4.        Improving the supply side of good-quality training

5.        Regulated professional workforce

6.        Management (including registered managers)

For more information, visit https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Workforce-Strategy/Home.aspx.

The Strategy can be downloaded from: https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Workforce-Strategy/resources/Supporting-resources/A-Workforce-Strategy-for-Adult-Social-Care-in-England.pdf