Skills for Care offers advice on creating a sustainable workforce

By Sarah Clarke

Skills for Care has advised care providers attending the Dementia, Care & Nursing Home Expo on creating a sustainable social care workforce amid increasing turnover rates in the sector.

Speaking to delegates at the show yesterday, Skills for Care locality manager Lee Mummery discussed the solutions employers need to recruit, retain and train people who have the right personal values to offer quality care.

There are currently 110,000 vacancies in the social care sector and the Care Association Alliance estimates that the industry will need to recruit 128,000 new workers each year, or 1.3 million by 2030, to replace those who retire or leave.

Turnover rates average about 30% per annum in social care, the biggest rate of all job sectors in the UK. This has soared 21% since 2009, according to Skills for Care.

“We have an issue with staff and sustainability and it’s not going to get any better as the population ages,” said Lee.

Skills for Care looked at providers with a smaller labour turnover rate of 10% and found that those organisations provided a positive culture where staff are supported and valued; were transparent about the realities of the job; and offered training, development, flexibility and competitive rates of pay.

Lee explained that creating a positive workplace culture makes staff feel valued and motivated; improves retention and reduces recruitment costs; and helps meet CQC regulations.

“We found that if a provider is rated ‘outstanding’ for being well-led, they are generally rated outstanding overall,” he said.

Lee also stressed the importance of recruiting people for their values and behaviours. This ensures that providers recruit the right people for their organisation, who know what it means to provide high quality care and support and are more likely to stay.

He said providers should articulate this through website communications and mission statements; adverts and open days; application forms and job descriptions; interviews and assessment days; and induction days and probation periods.