18/07/2024 Workforce challenges highlighted in report
Alongside its Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy, Skills for Care has today also published a new report assessing the size and structure of the adult social care workforce in this country, writes Melanie Weatherley MBE, Chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association.
The results make for interesting reading. Vacancy levels have fallen in recent years, but at 8.3% they are still much higher than the national average, which has fallen from 4.1% to 2.8% since 2022.
Recruiting workers from overseas has made an existential difference, but this solution is not sustainable in the long term. In 2023/24 around one in three starters (31.8%) in direct care roles in the independent sector were recruited internationally; the other two-thirds were recruited from inside the UK. At 25% the proportion of the workforce that has been recruited from abroad is too high to be sustainable.
Domestic recruitment and retention continues to be a challenge, and the high availability of jobs in the wider economy is also contributing to this problem. These jobs are often higher paid and perceived to be less demanding than adult social care roles.
However, we are hopeful that with the help of a new government, we will be able to attract and retain people in the care sector. Working in adult social care is an amazing opportunity for a rewarding career which really makes a difference to the lives of our fellow citizens.