The government have announced that training opportunities will be made available for social care staff to develop their careers over the next three years. This comes as part of a £500 million support package for the social care sector.
The Department of Health and Social Care are financing the Workforce Development Fund to help thousands of care workers through workplace and education opportunities.
The learning and development opportunities will include:
- new financial support to help adult social care employers with the costs of continued professional development (CPD) for registered nurses and other allied health professionals
- a brand new Care Certificate qualification, ending the need for care workers to repeat this training when they move roles. The government will fund more than 100,000 training places for new care workers to complete this new qualification
- developing a digital hub and skills passport for the workforce – this will help provide a voluntary register of staff and verified records of skills and qualifications when moving between providers
The hope is that this will attract new workers to the industry, whilst retaining the current care staff.
The Care and Mental Health Minister, Gillian Keegan, stated:
“Dedicating your life to caring for others is not just a job, it is a calling but it also needs to be a career.
We know how hardworking social care staff are and they deserve our support in developing their skills through training.
Better training ultimately means better care for residents and a better future for staff.”
The training will help set clear stages of progression for workers, as well as providing more positions and routes for care workers to move into.
These include additional funding for level 5 managers for further qualifications, and all managers without a level 5 qualification will be able to attain a funded Diploma in Leadership and Management in Adult Care.
Lower level qualifications will also receive support so all workers have the opportunity to gain training and qualifications in the care sector.
Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Deborah Sturdy, said:
“A key priority when I took on this role was to improve training and career opportunities for our hardworking staff.
Providing care is a skill which requires nurturing and if we want to retain the best of the profession we need to care for them too.
The skills framework will offer progression and improved opportunities which all our staff deserve.”
As well as educational opportunities, professional development opportunities will be given. These include training to help with other medical issues such as diabetes, stroke awareness, mental health care and care for those with special educational needs.
