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King's Fund - Skills for Care figures show there are still huge workforce gaps in adult social care
Simon Bottery, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund commented on The size and structure of the adult social care workforce in England report and Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy from Skills for Care
‘The latest figures from Skills for Care show that, despite international recruitment, there is still a huge workforce challenge in adult social care.
‘Vacancies remain higher than before Covid-19 and the vacancy rate is three times higher than in some other sectors of the economy. When there are other jobs to go to, UK workers prefer them to social care.
‘International recruitment has provided the only real relief to this situation but with the tightening of regulations there are real concerns that this source of workers will now dry up, leaving a huge problem for providers and – most importantly – the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on and request social care services.
‘Government plans to mandate higher pay for social care staff, announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday, will help make care worker roles more attractive. Wider action will still be needed, both to shore up social care with additional funding, and to develop a comprehensive, longer-term approach to the care workforce that focuses on recruitment and retention. The new Skills for Care workforce strategy will be a first step towards this.’
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The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.
