Social care staff
A new strategy to improve social care for all
Skills for Care, the workforce development agency for the social care sector, recently launched its three-year strategy. Here, strategy directors Sarah Gilbert and Jenny Paton discuss how this strategy intends to improve social care for the workforce and communities
Our vision at Skills for Care is of a fair and just society, where people can access the advice, care, and support they need to live life to the fullest. Our mission to achieve this is to support and empower current and future social care leaders, employers, and the wider workforce. This vision and mission are what underpins our new strategy.1
The launch
of this strategy is a pivotal moment for Skills for Care, and its development has been a primary focus for both of us since joining the organisation.
Improving the social care system Our strategy is comprised of four key areas, one of which is ‘improving the social care system’ – a rather broad ambition, some may say, but undeniably crucial. The Covid pandemic has been a particularly challenging time for the social care sector, but it has also highlighted just how vital it is for our communities. Furthermore, it shone much-needed
light on the incredible job our social care workforce performs and its impact on people’s lives. None of which is to deny that our care workers faced challenges that no-one should have to face – no matter how ‘heroic’ they may be judged for doing so.
These challenges will have a lasting
impact on the sector as we move into a period of post-Covid recovery. Sickness rates running at double their usual level have increased the workload for the rest of the workforce. Some employers have told Skills for Care that their employees and registered managers are at risk of burnout. Our newly released ‘State of the adult
social care workforce in England report’ also revealed that that between March and August 2021 there was a 1.8 per cent
The strategy was developed because the way social care is delivered needs to adapt to reflect a society in which people live longer, often have more complex needs, and have different expectations about how and where care should be delivered
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decrease in jobs (filled posts) across the sector.2 This is the first time on record that the
number of filled posts fell. At the same time, vacancy rates have increased. This points towards significant recruitment and retention difficulties for the sector while employers struggle to find and recruit the staff they need. So, as we tentatively look ahead to
the worst of the pandemic being behind us, it is clear there are still issues facing the sector that we must address and tackle. Our goal is to improve the social care system to ensure it is well funded, supports people to live the lives that they choose, and attracts the right people to the workforce. We will look to the future needs of
the adult social care sector and drive forward positive change. This means supporting the whole sector to innovate, making the best use of data and evidence, and working collaboratively
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • December 2021
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