The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that social care staff are to be offered hundreds of thousands of opportunities to further develop their careers over the next three years.
This comes as part of the government’s £500 million support package, alongside the extension of the Workforce Development Fund for an extra year.
The government will be working alongside those in the social care sector to lay the foundations for staff training and support, including the creation of a new knowledge and skills framework, to ensure that the paths are clear for staff to progress. Training suppliers and the social care sector will be consulted about potential contracts to develop the best possible opportunities for learning and development from April 2023.
Gillian Keegan, Minister for Care and Mental Health, said:
“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 for residents and a better future for staff.”
Learning and development opportunities will include:
- Additional financial support to help adult social care employers manage the costs of continued professional development for registered nurses and other allied health professionals.
- A new Care Certificate qualification to, ending the need for care workers to repeat training when transitioning roles. There will also be government funding for over 100,000 training places for new care workers to complete the new qualification.
- The development of a digital hub and skills passport for workers, helping to provide a voluntary register of staff and verified records of skills and qualifications when moving between care providers.
Leadership training will also be available to help produce a culture of consistent professional development across all care providers, of all sizes.
