Promedica24 endorses Skills for Care’s social care strategy

Promedica24, Europe’s largest provider of live-in care, welcomes Skills for Care’s three-year-long plan aimed at tackling the most prevailing challenges of the adult social care sector, including staff shortages and misconceptions about the care professions.

Skills for Care is an independent strategic workforce development and planning organisation that assists the government, social services, care providers and other industry stakeholders with the design and delivery of an adult social care system that meets the highest quality care standards and the needs of an ageing society.

The new strategy is built around four priorities: increasing workforce capacity by attracting more people into the profession; supporting skills and professional development; improving the funding of the social care system; and building a positive, inclusive culture of equality and diversity to ensure people feel valued and supported throughout each step of their careers. 

To recruit, develop and retain people with the right values and behaviours to work in the adult social care sector, Skills for Care urges all industry stakeholders to work together on changing the public perception of the profession: ‘For too long, a career in social care has been seen as low-value and low-skilled.

‘This is not the case. People working in adult social care have a vital role in society and deserve to be recognised as highly qualified professionals who are respected for the work they do.’

Skills for Care’s vision is shared and fully supported by Promedica24. Recruiting and retaining people with the right characteristics and skills is paramount to ensuring care providers can deliver the highest quality, personalised support to all who need it.

For more than a year, Promedica24 has been running an informative campaign targeted at the government, policymakers and media about the detrimental impact workforce shortages have on those who draw on care services.

The company points at the Covid-19 pandemic, post-Brexit immigration policy, and negative public perceptions of working in the care sector as the main challenges of recruiting suitable staff that could meet the growing demand for care services.

Paula Beaney, quality assurance director at Promedica24, said: ‘Skills for Care’s new three-year strategy is an exciting and promising step forward for the social care sector and all who operate in it.

‘The plan provides clear recommendations for the changes that need to take place to ensure people can easily access care services that meet their unique and often complex needs, supporting their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

‘This can only be achieved when care providers are able to recruit and train a workforce equipped with the skills, values, characteristics and experience necessary to provide support and companionship to the most vulnerable members of our society.

‘Promedica24 fully supports the new Skills for Care strategy. We are committed to working together with all industry stakeholders on raising the profile of care professions and creating a rewarding and inclusive working environment for those who wish to build their careers in the adult social care sector.

‘It is central to our mission to ensure families and their loved ones can access care and support that promotes independence, provides choice and empowers them to live the lives they desire while helping our staff to develop professionally.  

‘With the new post-Brexit immigration policies in place, recruitment in the sector is harder than ever before. Earlier this year, we launched our new recruitment campaign with the intention to hire at least 2000 new care workers to meet the growing demand for our services. We have successfully filled just over 150 vacancies to date and are driving our recruitment programme harder still.

‘We are fully focussed on ensuring we provide ongoing staff support, an attractive benefits package and an extensive training programme, as well as opportunities for further professional development.

‘We see workforce development and strong staff retention as two key factors to successfully growing our pool of staff.’

Photo Credit – Nathan Anderson