Social care staff
with partners to build a social care workforce that is fit for the future. In order to play our part in improving
the social care system, we will utilise our leading knowledge of social care practice and our workforce intelligence to: l Support effective planning for the sector.
l Identify how the workforce must develop to meet future needs, and feed these insights to key decision- makers.
l Work with our counterparts in health to ensure the needs of the social care workforce are embedded in the integration of health and social care.
Integration of health and social care Health and social care are natural partners. Integration of the two can bring many benefits for both. In particular, a well-funded and effective social care system will relieve pressure on our NHS. By providing people with the care and
support they need to live their lives - how they want at the earliest stage - we can prevent many people from relying on our NHS and health sector for critical care. Alleviating pressure on healthcare is essential in the face of the ongoing crisis. Yet health and social care are not one
and the same. The care worker role is unique. It is a role that requires a person- centred, holistic approach to achieving a range of outcomes for individuals with diverse aspirations, support needs and circumstances. An integrated system that understands
and values social care will not only mean better support for the people in our communities who need it, it will also create a stronger and more valued workforce for social care teams to be a part of. Supporting the social care system
is also important because of the crucial economic role the sector serves in the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. Recent economic analysis commissioned by Skills for Care demonstrated that social care boosts local economies by providing five per cent of all jobs in England and that wages are often spent directly in the local communities.
Recognising the workforce Our vision is for a better-paid and highly- valued social care workforce, where colleagues are assessed on the outcomes they deliver to people in their communities. Our recent ‘The value of adult social care in England’ report discovered that adult social care contributes £50.3 billion to the English economy and brings many societal benefits.3 This report analysed the wider societal
value of social care and monetises some of these benefits, including improved wellbeing of carers and employment opportunities for carers. The values of these were calculated at £1.3 billion and around £5.6 billion respectively for working age adults. Given the evidenced value which
social care brings our communities, it is only fair that our workforce is recognised and compensated accordingly. Improving the basic working conditions for our workforce is a core element in improving the effectiveness of sector, and the care and support that is available to those who need it. Our data tells us that changing a care
worker’s contract from temporary to permanent reduces turnover by ten per cent, while a £1 pay increase per hour reduces turnover by up to four per cent. The reason we cite turnover as a
metric, is because it is directly related to quality of care. Having a consistent, loyal and
December 2021 •
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experienced team providing care and support to those who need it builds better trust, communication and relationships between care workers and the people they support. It also allows care workers to build up their skills and knowledge, to continually provide best practice, and to be innovative in their work.
Short-term and long-term goals Our long-term goal is to build and support a workforce which has the right number of people with the right skills and behaviours, and to create a sector esteemed by the community which it supports. In the shorter term, we have some key focuses to help us get there. These include supporting our sector
with workforce strategy and planning to achieve a shared vision. We will do this by sharing insights and data, which can form planning assumptions and set agreed roles and responsibilities across all elements of the system. We will focus on helping independent
commissioners and local systems to better understand the value and the intricacies of social care – alongside the challenges and inequalities which the sector faces – so that meaningful integrated planning can happen that supports our vision. Our leading workforce data and
insights will also be key in helping us to shape a social care system which is better for those who work in it, and those it works for. We will create comprehensive insight into what the sector looks like, what its needs are, and how it needs to develop to meet future demand. Sharing these insights with
Government and key stakeholders, Skills for Care can shape sector policy and decision-making. By doing so, we will ensure the sector is supported and funded to meet the needs of all of us, now and in the future.
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