Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care says:
“Working in adult social care is rewarding and offers the
opportunity to support people in your community and to develop
into senior leadership positions if you want.
“As we develop and implement reform for people working in adult
social care, there is an opportunity for us to better recognise
that these are highly-skilled and exciting careers.
“This campaign launches at a time when recruitment and retention
is a key focus for adult social care. The recruitment
challenges are evident in the findings of our recent
annual ‘State of the adult social care
sector and workforce in England’ report, and we have
heard from many employers that recruitment and retention has been
increasingly difficult in recent months.
“Our data shows that on average 6.8% of roles in adult social
care were vacant in 2020/21, which is equivalent to 105,000
vacancies being advertised on any given day, and our data shows
that vacancy rates are now back above their pre-pandemic
levels.
“We are pleased to see the DHSC campaign focusing on the
important work that the 1.5million people working in adult social
care do, celebrating the way they support people, and shining a
light on the personal rewards of working in social
care.
“This campaign can play a vital role in raising awareness of the
impact of social care on our communities and the rewarding
opportunities that a career in social care offers. By improving
the understanding of social care, the different opportunities to
support older people and younger people at home and in the
community and why people choose to work in the sector, we can
attract more people to support others to live the lives they want
in the place that they call home.”
