Skills for Care has recently published a new Care Workforce Strategy which aims to reform the UK’s care sector and make it more attractive to workers. The TUC is supportive of the plan and has expressed confidence that some of the recommendations will be reflected in the forthcoming Employment Bill promised by the Labour Party.
Below, we discuss the current issues faced by the care workforce and the various proposals of the Care Workforce Strategy.
UK’s Care Workforce Struggling Due to Lack of Quality Skills Training
Skills for Care, the strategic workforce development and planning body for adult social care in England, has recently released a report highlighting a number of issues with the care workforce in the UK. Chief amongst these are the high number of vacancies in the sector, the lack of diversity across the workforce, and the availability of good quality training and clear career pathways.
According to the Skills for Care data, there are presently 131,000 vacancies in the UK’s social care sector. This is more than three times higher than that prevailing in the wider economy. Key causes for this state of affairs include the consistently increasing workforce (which has grown by 14% over the past 12 years) and the high staff turnover rate (which stood at 28.3% on average in 2022-2023).
READ: How To: Manage an Age-Diverse Workforce
The demographics of care workers are another area of concern, according to Skills for Care. In 2022, data shows that the workforce was unevenly split between genders, with 81% of these being female. Similarly, 29% of care workers were over 55 years, with the average age being 45 years. Although there is diversity across ethnicities, this is not reflected in managerial roles, with 83% of senior managers being white.
Providing relevant and good quality training to care workers is of equal importance, according to Skills for Care. The turnover rates of staff members with a relevant social care qualification or who receive regular training are both lower than those who do not, by 10.5% and 9% respectively. Perhaps concerningly, 54% of staff who work in the non-regulated adult social care sector hold a relevant social care qualification, according to Skills for Care data.
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What is the New Care Workforce Strategy?
Skills for Care estimates that the UK care sector will demand an extra 430,000 care workers over the next decade. In light of this and the response to the various issues faced by the UK care sector, Skills for Care has produced a new Care Workforce Strategy.
This plan addressed each of the issues, with hopes to improve the UK’s care workforce on an ongoing basis. Skills for Care has expressed itself keen to work with the UK government to implement as many elements of its Care Workforce Strategy as possible. It may hope to see some of its recommendations included in the Employment Bill over the next few months.
Key Areas of The Care Workforce Strategy
The three principal areas of focus within the Care Workforce Strategy are attraction and retention, training, and transformation.
Some of the key recommendations for the government were to improve pay and terms and conditions for care workers, invest in excellent quality training, and identify clear career pathways. The creation of an independent body is also on the table, that can drive the delivery of the Care Workforce Strategy and ensure its timely review.
The strategy suggests reviewing pay, to ensure compliance with the National Living Wage, introducing a real living wage (£1 or £2 above the National Living Wage), and paying for travel time. Some of these points were included in the Labour Party’s manifesto and should be reflected in the upcoming Employment Bill.
In addition to the recommendations, the Care Workforce Strategy features several commitments from those involved in its production. These include:
- Encouragement of good workforce planning by the CQC,
- Streamlining of mandatory training by Skills for Care,
- Support for employers on employee wellbeing and workplace harassment, and,
- Potential creation of professional care workers registers.
What Does the TUC Say about the Care Workforce Strategy?
The Trade Unions Congress has already pledged its support for the new Care Workforce Strategy. It has stated that the care workforce deserves much better than it currently receives and that the Labour Party has the potential to be “transformative for social care.”
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, blames the current situation on the Conservative Party and the “chronic underinvestment” that the care workforce suffered under a Tory government. He says, “The sector has sky high vacancies and is rife with exploitative employers, poverty pay and unsafe working conditions.”
READ: TUC’s Paul Nowak Says Labour’s New Deal for Working People Will Be a “Gamechanger”
Speaking about the proposed Care Workforce Strategy, Paul Nowak said: “It will pave the way towards a groundbreaking sector-wide Fair Pay Agreement, which would make sure our diligent care workers finally get the recognition, pay and conditions they deserve – and lay the foundations for a National Care Service in the future.”
The TUC has never been slow to show its support for the UK’s care workforce. Responding to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 1 report, Paul Nowak once said that we need to make sure this never happens again. He added, “We owe it to those who lost their lives – and to those workers who put their lives at risk ….”
Similarly, the TUC was involved in highlighting priorities for the General Discussion on Decent Work in the Care Economy, hosted by the International Labour Organisation last month. They now plan to draw on the outcomes of the discussion and key points in the Labour Party’s manifesto for recommendations for future improvements to the UK care sector.