Workforce strategy
How people came together to develop the Strategy This Workforce Strategy was developed by Skills for Care in collaboration with the entire adult social care sector, along with colleagues from health and education. It reflects the input of thousands of stakeholders. It is truly a sector-owned strategy, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed their time and insights. The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
has been a participant and supporter of the development of this Strategy. The Workforce Strategy Steering Group was co- chaired by Professor Oonagh Smyth and Sir David Pearson and supported by a steering group of 27 experts. In addition to this, there were expert working groups that supported the development of the Strategy across the following areas: n Science, technology, AI and pharmaceuticals.
n Integration. n Prevention. n New service models and multidisciplinary working.
n Recruit and retain. n Develop and train. n Leadership. n Academic and research panel.
Key components of the Workforce Strategy The recommendations and commitments contained within the Strategy broadly fall
into three categories: n Recommendations that require government action (including pay, the various options for which would cost the Treasury between £40m and £4.3bn).
n Recommendations that will be led across the sector or the civil service.
n Recommendations that should be funded and led by government and the sector in partnership.
‘Attract and retain’ recommendations Evidence shows the two most immediate recruitment levers in adult social care are ensuring that adult social care is
competitive in local labour markets; this includes by paying more and having good quality roles, and international recruitment. We can do both things – recruit from abroad and improve the quality of social care roles – but if we do neither, immediate workforce capacity issues are likely to continue. However, we also need to guard against only pulling these short-term levers for attraction. We have to continue to focus on recruiting the domestic workforce so that we have people in the areas we need them, and we need to do more to keep people. We know that pay and terms and conditions, including flexible employment policies, help to attract entrants into the workforce, but a mixture of factors helps people to stay and build a career in adult social care and we need to focus on these too. Specific and significant changes within this category include: n Improvements to pay and terms and conditions.
n Better, more ethical international recruitment practices.
n Employee relations for non-regulated workforce.
n Targeted recruitment campaigns to attract a more diverse workforce.
n Retention efforts intended to address the high turnover rate across the sector.
n A more inclusive work culture. n Increased focus on wellbeing at work.
‘Train’ recommendations Everyone working in social care should have the chance to develop, learn, and grow in their role. Learning and development supports good quality social care and retention. In this section, the Strategy identifies
November 2024
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 37
Siphosethu F/
peopleimages.com -
stock.adobe.com
zinkevych -
stock.adobe.com
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
