Hundreds of thousands of training opportunities will be available for social care staff!

Hundreds of thousands of training opportunities will be available for social care staff to develop their careers over the next 3 years as part of the government’s £500 million support package.

The government is working in partnership with the social care sector on plans for staff training and support including creating a new knowledge and skills framework to ensure clear paths to progress.

As part of this the government will be speaking to training suppliers and the social care sector about potential contracts to develop the best possible learning and development opportunities from April 2023, using some of the £500 million announced in the Spending Review.

These learning and development opportunities will include:

• new financial support to help adult social care employers with the costs of continued professional development (CPD) for registered nurses and other allied health professionals

• a brand new Care Certificate qualification, ending the need for care workers to repeat this training when they move roles. The government will fund more than 100,000 training places for new care workers to complete this new qualification

• developing a digital hub and skills passport for the workforce – this will help provide a voluntary register of staff and verified records of skills and qualifications when moving between providers

By better supporting careers and staff wellbeing potential care workers are more likely to apply and current workers are more likely to want to remain in the profession.

Minister for Care and Mental Health Gillian Keegan said:

"Dedicating your life to caring for others is not just a job, it is a calling but it also needs to be a career.

We know how hardworking social care staff are and they deserve our support in developing their skills through training.

Better training ultimately means better care for residents and a better future for staff."

The new framework will set out the knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours people need to work in adult social care. It will also set out career structures and clear pathways for development within roles, as well as creating more routes for progression.