New strategy for meeting the workforce demands of an ageing population

Workforce development body Skills for Care has launched a refreshed Recruitment and Retention Strategy, which it promotes as being ‘created by the sector for the sector’.

The Strategy offers guidance on three key areas Skills for Care see as a priority: these are; to attract more people with the right values and skills by raising the profile of adult social care and career progression; encouraging and enabling better recruitment practices; and addressing above average turnover rates in the sector.

As chief executive Sharon Allen explains: “We know turnover and vacancy rate are too high, but by using the expertise and frontline experiences of group members we have created a practical strategy that will help tackle serious recruitment and retention problems that impact on all employers big or small.

“I want to thank all those who have worked so hard to create this easy to use strategy. It brings together in one place key initiatives already in place to help employers – like the Social Care Commitment – but also sets out what more we need to do to find people with the right values and skills to offer high quality person-centred care.”

The Strategy is a refreshed form of that first launched in 2011, with the organisation looking to refresh once more in 2017. Meanwhile there will be quarterly reviews carried out by the Department of Health’s recruitment and retention group in order to inform implementation plans.

On the issue of improving recruitment potential, Trevor Brocklebank, chief executive of Home Instead, feels that restrictions on working hours also need to be considered by government departments, particularly those caused by benefits.

He says: “For us, one of the biggest restrictions is that at present a carer can work for 16 hours per week with no impact on their benefits and there is no flexibility in this.

“Imagine a situation, not uncommon, when a carer’s client requires additional support, perhaps just an extra two to three hours for a couple of weeks; after a fall, for example or after a spell in hospital.

“In this type of instance the caregiver would ideally be able to support their client without being penalised by the system.

“This is not in the best interests of the client who may have a condition, such as a dementia, where a change of their regular carer or daily routine is stressful. It would be useful to investigate the idea of care workers being allowed some flexibility in the 16 hour ‘rule’.”