Workforce This is happening at a time when the
wider care sector is already under immense pressure. According to Skills for Care, while the adult social care vacancy rate fell to its lowest level in the year 2025-26 to 6.1 per cent, the rate is still significantly above the wider economy average, and its CEO Professor Oonagh Smyth warned the sector will need around 410,000 additional posts by 2040 “just to keep pace” with the growth in the population aged over 65. Staff turnover rates remain above 20 per
cent, with starter rates above 25 per cent. meaning hundreds of thousands of workers leave their roles every year. At the same time, demand for care services continues to rise rapidly due to an ageing population and increasing complexity of care needs. The number of adults aged 85 years and
older needing round-the-clock care will almost double to 446,000 in England by 2035, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health. Meanwhile, it is well documented that dementia care demand is rising, while complex support needs are increasing and hospitals are under pressure to discharge patients into community and residential care settings more quickly. Adult social care is no longer a peripheral public service - it is one of the country’s most important and fastest-growing sectors. Yet despite its importance, recruitment
in care still often operates through outdated and inefficient models. A provider advertises directly. Agencies
duplicate the advert elsewhere, often increasing the pay rate to attract applicants. Candidates become confused about who they are actually applying to. Employers lose direct visibility of applicants interested in their service. Agencies then charge substantial placement fees for introducing workers who may originally have found the role through the provider’s own advertising. Six months later, when turnover happens
again, the process repeats itself. This cycle creates several serious problems. First, it drives unnecessary costs into a sector already struggling financially. Many
care homes operate on tight margins, balancing rising energy bills, compliance requirements, food costs, wage pressures and increased regulatory expectations. Every pound spent on avoidable recruitment fees is money that could otherwise be invested in staff development, resident wellbeing or improving services. Second, it weakens long-term workforce
stability. When recruitment becomes focused primarily on filling shifts quickly, less attention is given to values, compatibility and long-term retention. In care settings, that matters enormously. This is not retail or temporary warehouse work. Care is deeply relational. Residents, vulnerable adults and people with support needs rely on consistency, familiarity and trust. Every time a worker leaves, continuity
of care is disrupted. Families notice it. Residents notice it. Existing staff feel it too. A revolving door workforce creates stress not only operationally but emotionally. Third, fragmented recruitment damages
the candidate experience itself. Many workers entering care are not necessarily motivated purely by salary. They are often looking for purpose, stability, meaningful
work and environments where they feel valued. Yet recruitment systems frequently make the process feel cold, slow and transactional. Candidates are passed between recruiters.
Communication becomes inconsistent. Job descriptions lack transparency. Interviews are delayed. Expectations around shifts, progression or workplace culture are often unclear until after employment begins. In a highly competitive labour market,
these experiences matter. Younger workers in particular now expect recruitment processes to be digital, responsive and transparent. They expect fast communication, direct interaction and clarity around career progression. Industries that fail to modernise their hiring experience risk losing talent before candidates even reach the interview stage. The care sector cannot afford that. One
of the biggest misconceptions surrounding social care recruitment is the belief that there simply are not enough people willing to do care work. Of course, workforce shortages are real.
Brexit, the pandemic, inflation and changing migration rules have all affected labour supply. But focusing solely on shortages risks ignoring the structural inefficiencies making recruitment harder than it needs to be. In many cases, providers are not failing
because nobody wants to work in care. They are failing because the systems connecting workers to opportunities are too slow, too fragmented and too expensive. The sector needs to ask itself whether
current recruitment models are genuinely serving providers and workers, or whether they are simply sustaining an expensive
52
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com October 2026
Source: Skills for Care
Jacob Lund -
stock.adobe.com
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