RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
challenging times, apprenticeships, particularly when supported by government funding, represent one of the most cost- effective routes to strengthening the workforce. The returns are measurable: higher retention rates, reduced reliance on agency staff, and stronger ratings from regulators. Apprenticeships also help to reframe perceptions of care work itself. They elevate care from being seen as a stopgap job to being understood as a professional career with structured progression. This shiſt in perception is critical if the sector is to attract and retain the next generation of care professionals.
“Apprenticeships are not simply a training tool but a means of future-proofing the sector.”
Paragon Skills’ own data demonstrates the potential of apprenticeships to transform workforce outcomes. Over the past year, Paragon Skills has trained over 5,000 learners across more than 2,000 care businesses, delivering measurable impact on both recruitment and retention. Learner progression is strong, with many hundreds of learners advancing to higher qualifications, 42% achieving promotions, and 47% securing pay rises. Just under 92% of learners progress to positive destinations, fewer than 11% withdraw early, and almost 6% move on to higher level apprenticeships, figures that directly show the link between apprenticeships and stability within care employers. Perhaps most importantly, 80% of apprentices move into paid employment, offering care settings a reliable pipeline of skilled and motivated staff.
These outcomes also illustrate how apprenticeships strengthen leadership capacity. With increasing numbers progressing into
higher qualifications and leadership roles, care employers are developing a pipeline of future managers who can guide teams, drive innovation, and maintain quality under pressure. At a time when leadership capacity is under strain, apprenticeships are one of the few mechanisms that offer both immediate frontline relief and long-term strategic development.
The strategic challenge for care employers is to move from seeing apprenticeships as an optional extra to embedding them as a cornerstone of workforce planning. They are not simply a training tool but a means of future-proofing the sector. Apprenticeships should be tied to wider organisational goals, linked to succession planning, and viewed as part of long-term workforce resilience. This requires leadership, foresight and a commitment to thinking beyond the immediate recruitment crisis.
Care settings that take this approach will be better equipped to face the demographic and financial challenges ahead. Demand for care is rising, budgets are constrained, and the workforce itself is ageing. In such an environment, piecemeal recruitment drives will not be enough. What is needed is a pipeline of skilled, motivated and confident professionals who see care as a career worth committing to. Apprenticeships provide exactly that, and the results achieved by providers such as Paragon Skills offer clear evidence that this approach delivers.
For sector leaders, the call to action is clear. Recruitment and retention challenges are not going away. But by embedding apprenticeships into workforce strategy, care employers can build stronger, more resilient teams, reduce turnover, and enhance the quality of care delivered across the country. The decision to embrace apprenticeships is not simply about meeting training targets; it is about investing in the future of care itself. Those employers who act now will be the ones shaping a sector that is stable, professional and capable of meeting the needs of future generations.
www.paragonskills.co.uk
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www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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