A third of UK jobseekers would consider working in social care: a guide for taking action to improve recruitment, retention and progression

A report from Totaljobs and the Work Foundation shares insights and recommendations for care providers, Government and sector bodies, focused on recruitment, retention and progression within social care.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put social care in the spotlight. Alongside this, Brexit brings an additional recruitment challenge to a sector that continues to face labour shortages and high churn rates.

In fact, the number of adult social care jobs is expected to rise by 32% by 2035 in order to meet the needs of the UK population and provide care to the people who need it.

Along with leading think-tank the Work Foundation, we’ve taken a deep-dive into the social care industry, specifically looking at recruitment, retention and progression in the sector.

Recruitment

We found that a third (31%) of UK jobseekers would consider a career in care, while 53% say they now have a more positive view of social care off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While it’s positive that public perceptions of working in social care have improved, misunderstandings around the realities of this career path could result in a high churn of potential new hires.

Retention

Meanwhile, over a third (37%) of existing social care staff are motivated to look for a new role in the search for higher salaries, better progression, less stressful work and the need to feel more valued.

14% are looking to leave the industry altogether, meaning the sector is losing talented, caring people while still recovering from the impact of Covid-19 on staff and their clients.

Progression

A lack of career progression is one key factor driving social care workers to look for a new role. In fact, almost half (49%) of care workers say that more opportunities for progression would encourage them to stay in the sector.

Recommendations

To improve turnover rates, social care providers should refine their employer brand messaging to position care as a long-term career for potential candidates, with opportunities to train and progress.

With this, creating a people-first culture where social carers feel valued in their day-to-day work is essential for retention.

Recommendations for policymakers and sector bodies

Off the back of this research, alongside engaging with current social care workers, employers and sector bodies, the following actions at policy level can support social care providers in attracting and retaining a thriving workforce:

• The Government must deliver on its commitment to produce a long-term strategy for funding and delivering adult social care into the future that takes into account pay and progression in the sector.

• Social care sector bodies and regulators should coordinate with central Government and national governments to create a sector-wide, long-term strategy for workforce development including creating a Continuing Professional Development Framework well supported by funding.

Find out more about how the Government and sector bodies can work with care providers by downloading the report.