Social care sector to benefit from more versatile qualifications criteria

A more flexible qualifications framework, welcomed by leading healthcare professionals throughout the country, will be one of the main initiatives used to help encourage more people to consider a career in the care sector, seen as a crucial goal in securing an effective workforce as the challenges of an ageing population continue to accelerate.

Described by the Nursing & Midwifery Council as the ‘biggest overhaul in nursing education programmes since Project 2000’, the new framework has been designed to bring an end to some of the insecurities experienced by care workers, suiting a greater transferability to new roles and, therefore, more clearly defined careers prospects, while there will be more opportunities to specialise in specific care forms.

The new nursing programmes will commence in September and, over the course of two years, the intention is to bring all education programmes in line with the new standards. Numerous public bodies, including the Alzheimer’s Society and Mencap, have been consulted throughout the development of the new programmes as an attempt to ensure that a broad spectrum of healthcare concerns are covered for the long-term benefit of the talent entering the sector.

The Nursing & Midwifery Council has set out more details on its website, www.nmc-uk.org , as to what can be expected, while having also recently set out the terms of a closer partnership with the Care Quality Commission to allow both organisations to further their impact upon the social care sector.

Together with the establishment of more effective healthcare skills, however, there is also likely to be pressure upon the new qualifications to succeed in encouraging more of the nation’s growing talent to consider a care industry career. Social care in particular is still seen as being too dependent upon immigrant workers and suffers from an unusually high staff turnover. Firmer access to UK-based talent could alleviate some of the stigmas surrounding care jobs, with the possibility of approaching immigration caps threatening to increase the need for success.