11/01/2024   Carers Need Better Pay Alongside Career Support, Says LinCA

The Chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association has welcomed today’s announcement of government support for careers in adult social care 

But Melanie Weatherley MBE says local authorities need more funding in order to increase carers’ pay.

The government says the plans it has set out today will give social care staff better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects.

The package of measures that reaffirm care work as a career includes:

• The launch of the Care Workforce Pathway
  A national career structure for the adult social care workforce.
• Over £50 million of funding for a new qualification
  Up to 37,000 people in direct adult social care roles can enrol on the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification between June 2024 and March 2025.
• Over £20 million for apprenticeships
  Local authorities and adult social care providers can use the money to train and supervise hundreds of new social work and nurse apprentices.
• Subsidised training places
  An uplift to the Workforce Development Fund will expand access to learning and development, creating opportunities for the workforce to become experts in their field or progress into new roles.
• A new digital leadership qualification
  This will help equip social care leaders and managers with the confidence and capability to lead the implementation and use of technology in the delivery of care.

“The Lincolnshire Care Association welcomes this package of improved support for carers’ career prospects, but pay for the people in front line services needs to be improved if we are to attract and retain the best employees,” said Melanie Weatherley.

“Measures to enhance career development in the social care sector must be accompanied by increased pay for care workers. That’s why we’re continuing to ask for additional funding for local authorities to support carers and drive up wages.”

The government’s announcement coincides with phase two of its Made with Care recruitment campaign which aims to get more people in the UK to consider a rewarding career in care.