The social care sector may need to fill an extra one million jobs by 2025 if it is to cope with the increasing demand for services brought on by, among other causes, a growing and ageing population.
With poor rates of retention in the sector – there is an average staff turnover rate of 19% – this becomes even more of a challenge. Joint strategies for recruiting more staff and encouraging them to stay in social care for longer are therefore needed.
The recent Key to Care report by the Burstow commission noted that homecare is “facing a recruitment crisis”. Paul Burstow, a former care minister, argues in the report: “We must make care work a career of esteem, where a living wage is paid, staff are trained and recognised as valued key workers who contribute a huge amount to society.” Recommendations from the commission include a living wage and clear routes of career progression for all care workers.
We’ve put together a panel of people from social care to discuss how the sector can meet the challenges of recruitment and retention. The livechat will be taking place on Thursday 11 December between 12 and 2pm.
We’ll be looking at:
- Examples of innovation in recruitment practices
- Whether better pay, training and conditions would aid retention of staff
- How to create clear career pathways
- If the target of filling one million extra jobs by 2025 is feasible
The livechat takes place in the comments section below this article. Taking part is easier than ever: you can create a free Guardian account, or log in using your Twitter or Facebook profiles to comment. Alternatively, you can tweet us @GdnSocialCare or email Ruth Hardy (ruth.hardy.casual@theguardian.com) who will post your questions for you.
Panellists
To be updated as panellists confirm
Annette Baines, programme head of recruitment and retention at Skills for Care
Carol Foyle, director of children, youth and family services at the Westminster Society
Nina Osborne, individual employer
Peter Beresford, co-chair at Shaping Our Lives and professor of social policy at Brunel University London
Stephen Goulder, director of operations at the Social Care Institute for Excellence
Dominique Kent, director of operations at The Good Care Group
Helen Cubitt, human resources advisor at FitzRoy
Laura Gardiner, senior research and policy analyst, Resolution Foundation
Discussion commissioned and controlled by the Guardian, hosted to a brief agreed with Skills for Care. Funded by Skills for Care
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