We need better clarity on the new social care certificate

Whilst the care industry is projecting the need for a 25% increase in positions to match the growing number of over 65s in our population, Kate Brett from Lifetime explains it’s imperative policies support making care an attractive career.

While the new Labour government has pledged to create a Fair Pay Agreement that will allow for collective negotiation of better pay and conditions in the sector, its vital that businesses have the right support from the government to ensure care is seen as an attractive career and that those looking to develop their skills, can be supported to thrive in the sector.

In June this year, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), launched the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, aimed at those who are new to care or those working in care without a qualification. The aim is to provide a formally accredited qualification, due to the existing Care Certificate not being accredited by an awarding organisation, meaning there is no measure of standardisation or quality.

The certificate will provide a baseline standard to care, reducing the need for repeat training, while reinforcing the professional nature of a career in care. However, as with any change, businesses within the sector face a learning curve and there is an urgent need for clarity on how the certificate fits in with existing training and how funding will be rolled out.

Understanding the new certificate’s scope

According to Skills for Care, those currently working in social care without a professional certification account for more than half (54%) of the workforce, so there is clearly a need for greater uniformity in training to deliver care to a high standard. But there are several barriers employers across social care are currently facing.

Firstly, the existing Care Certificate has to be delivered within the first three months of somebody starting to work as a carer, but there is no governance over how this is delivered, and learners can’t take the certificate from one employer to another. This means some carers may be required to complete the care certificate multiple times because they move from employer to employer, to different standards each time.

While the new certificate is a good step towards improving outcomes for people working in the sector and those they care for, the problem for many businesses is that there is a current lack of clarity about how this fits with the Level 2 Adult Care apprenticeship and the Level 2 Diploma in Care. Once funding Is rolled out, it should therefore be a priority of the new government to provide clearer information on the benefits.

Clarity on costs

The new certificate was due to receive £53 million in funding from the previous government with a launch of June 2024, however the funding was paused on 29 May and the sector is still awaiting certainty regarding the future of the qualification funding, with NCFE stating that this might not be rolled out until September.

There has been conversation among the trailblazer groups, which are facilitated by Skills for Health and responsible for developing apprenticeship standards, that the existing diploma, which forms part of the Level 2 apprenticeship, could be removed from the apprenticeship and that the adult care certificate is instead added in. This would mean that there would not be the requirement to carry the certificate out as well as an apprenticeship, alleviating the need for doubling up on qualifications and funding.

However, there have also been concerns among businesses that if the new certificate were to be rolled out as a standalone qualification, then they would need to pay upfront for the certificate and if a learner was to leave the employer before completing the certificate, they would ultimately lose commercial budget money without gaining any return on their investment.

Wider sector reform needed

As well as the new government making it a priority, through its new body, Skills England, to provide greater clarity on funding and routes to progression within the sector, it is crucial that people are incentivised to embark on a career in the sector through wider reform.

We’re finding that 35% of learners are leaving care apprenticeships and when they leave, they’re often leaving for work in sectors such as retail, as a result of the pressures of work and low pay available in the care sector.

A concrete step to prevent this drain from the care sector would be requiring local governments to earmark funding for care home places with conditions around directing part of this towards increasing staff pay.

Labour should also ensure they deliver on their promise to transform further education colleges, into ‘specialist Technical Excellence Colleges’, working more closely with businesses to provide specialist training that is matched with the needs of businesses.

While we firmly believe at Lifetime that the Adult Social Care Certificate is a valuable tool in helping to raise standards and support people’s progression through a focus on providing up to date knowledge and baseline skills required to support people well, it’s imperative that there is increased clarity regarding which qualifications companies should prioritise to maximise the funding they have available. This must go hand in and with reform to funding structures, and wider sector reform to ensure people feel they will be and are valued in their caring career.

Kate Brett is head of partnerships in the care department at Lifetime – an organisation specialising in training individuals for the sector they want to work in. 

Images: Kate Brett and Openverse 

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