Experts react to Skills for Care Workforce Strategy
The launch of the strategy has been hailed as a turning point for carers as new data displays the sector still has a vacancy rate around three times higher than the wider economy.
Although it seems the government haven’t placed much emphasis on improving recruitment and retention rates in social care, the latest workforce plan from Skills for Care definitely does.
The strategy, which was delivered in partnership with a number of care organisations including the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Integrated Care Systems, discovered that the sector currently contributes almost £60bn a year to the economy and if recruitment rates were better this number could increase.
When creating the workforce plan experts made it so it would complement the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which was published last year. Like this scheme, Skills for Care’s report covers the next 15 years and shows that we require 540,000 additional social care posts by 2040 if the workforce is to grow in line with the increase in the number of people in England over the age of 65.
What’s more, the number is expected to rise the most sharply within the next ten years, so we will need 430,000 additional posts by 2035.
With these facts in mind, Skills for Care have set out three recommendations for the government which include:
- Leading joined-up and consistent action to improve pay, terms and conditions for care workers
- Continuing to invest in training and career pathways
- Introducing legislation to mandate strategic workforce planning and create a central body – outside of, but directed by the government – to drive delivery
‘Thanks to more than 20 years of leadership and strong relationships across the sector, Skills for Care has been able to bring together an unprecedented group of people and organisations to create something that will help to tackle some of the most profound challenges we face,’ said Professor Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care.
‘The case for change is clear. We’re going to need hundreds of thousands more care workers, with the right skills and values, over the next 15 years – yet right now the sector still has a vacancy rate around three times higher than that of the wider economy and is struggling to compete in local job markets.’
Echoing a similar view, Lucinda Allen, senior policy officer at the Health Foundation remarked that the strategy is exactly what the government needs to hear in order to implement some proper support.
‘International recruitment was the main driver behind the boost to the care workforce last year: in the independent care sector, one in three new starters providing care was recruited internationally,’ Lucinda said. ‘This ongoing reliance on international recruitment is precarious, given the tightening of Care Worker Visa rules and the new government’s pledge to reduce immigration levels.’
She added: ‘We welcome the recommendations in Skills for Care’s adult social care workforce strategy, including for the government to lead action to improve pay, terms and conditions for care workers and to invest in training and career progression. The strategy is a positive first step but ensuring that we have enough staff to care for our population in the long term will require sustained policy action and funding from national government. The Health Foundation’s new report with the Nuffield Trust, also published today, shows that a more targeted government policy on care worker pay is essential, such as a sector-specific minimum wage and pay scale for social care.’
However, Professor Martin Green OBE, has claimed that whilst this strategy is a step in the right direction, only time will tell if changes are put into place.
Professor Green said: ‘There is no single solution to the care sector’s workforce crisis, and no single body is responsible for ensuring that social care is a profession of choice. What’s needed is a strategic approach to the workforce across the social care sector, and this workforce strategy delivers just that.
‘Skills for Care is to be commended for developing this strategy, which should act as a framework to ensure all parts of the system work collaboratively. Only then can we deliver a professionally qualified workforce that has the recognition and respect that it so clearly deserves.’
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