In response to the Skills for Care report on the size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce published today, Dr Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) said:
‘The social care workforce does a tremendous job supporting people of all ages to live independent and fulfilling lives. While there is clear commitment by third sector providers to invest in and grow the workforce, with 152,000 vacancies still to fill, it’s clear that radical action is needed.
‘We are urgently calling for a forward-looking plan for the social care workforce including parity of pay and recognition with the NHS. The government must stop ignoring the investment needed and prioritise social care to ensure the current and future workforce feel valued, are fairly paid and rewarded for their vital work. Without it, the services people, including those with lifelong disabilities, rely on, will be seriously compromised.’
Key findings from the report include:
- The total number of posts in adult social care in England, both filled posts and staff vacancies, was 1.79 million in 2022-3 which is an increase of 0.5% from the previous year.
- The number of filled posts increased by around 20,000 (1%) between April 2022 and March 2023, compared to the previous year when the number of filled posts fell for the first time on record, by around 60,000 (4%).
- Between April 2022 and March 2023, the vacancy rate decreased to 9.9%. This means there are around 152,000 vacancies on any given day. This compares to 10.6% (around 164,000) the previous year.
- International recruitment is being used by some employers to help address recruitment and retention challenges, with around 70,000 people recruited from abroad into direct care-providing roles after adult social care was added to the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022. Largely utilised by independent sector providers.
- The total number of filled posts in adult social care in 2022-3 was estimated at 1.635 million, filled by 1.52m people which is 5.2% of the total workforce in England. This is more than the number of people working in the NHS, schools or food and drink manufacturing.
- If the sector is to grow proportionally to the projected number of people aged 65 and over in the population, the number of posts will need to increase by around 445,000 posts to around 2.23 million by 2035.