WORKFORCE
What the Care Workforce Pathway means for adult social care
Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care, shares an update on the Care Workforce Pathway and how it can benefit people working in care and social care employers
The Care Workforce Pathway is a new universal career structure for the social care sector; a first of its kind for social care. It was launched in January 2024, commissioned
by the Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with Skills for Care supporting the development and implementation. It sets out the knowledge, skills, values, and
behaviours required to deliver high-quality, personalised care and support in different roles across social care – mapping clear routes for progression for people working in care.
Attracting and retaining people to work in care
We know from Skills for Care data that opportunities for learning and development significantly contribute to whether people feel happy in their work and whether they choose to stay. The Pathway can help attract and keep people
working in social care, supporting them to develop life-long careers in care, progressing into different roles as they wish. For many people, progression could look like
moving from a care worker role to a supervisor on to a registered manager; while for others, progression may mean enhancing their skills to focus on more complex care needs or specialising in certain types of support such as dementia care. By having a clearly defined career structure for
social care, people can see what opportunities are available and plan their own personalised learning and development journey. The Pathway can support managers and learning leads to assess what skills and training are needed for different roles in their organisation, and tailor their learning and development opportunities to suit these requirements. They can also more easily discuss career progression with their team, set goals together, and plan for relevant training and development opportunities to support their team to meet their personal goals. The Care Workforce Pathway is supported by a suite of resources and tools to enable staff to have
THE CARE HOME INDUSTRY HANDBOOK 2026 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
