A recent report by the Skills For Care group showed that the number of jobs in adult social care would rise from 2 million up to 3 million by 2025 in the UK.
Shortfalls in filling vacancies and high levels of staff turnover are severely hampering an already exhausted sector.
Across the UK getting the numbers of people working in care up to levels commensurate with demand and budget constraints is in itself a massive task, but it seems that one region in particular is prepared to meet the challenge. The Welsh Assembly has recently given the go-ahead for a social care workforce development programme that aims to increase training across the sector. The plan is part of an £11.6million package that the Welsh government hope will boost morale amongst existing care workers and tempt more talented individuals to consider care work as a career.
We spoke to Richard Perch who works for PayMatters, a firm that specialises in providing tax, payroll and umbrella company service advice to contractors in the social care sector. He had this to say on the financial fillip for social care in Wales: “What we are seeing here is a positive development that can have two key results. Firstly, training current staff shows a commitment to investing in those individuals, valuing their experience and helping them to add to it. This will help retain staff in the longer term, giving value back to a sector that is often bruised from constantly negative press coverage.”
Richard continued “Secondly, and as a payroll advisor to partners in the social care recruitment we do hear this quite often, an injection of cash into training schemes is a very welcome incentive in terms of attracting talent to that sector. It shows the ‘value’ of this field of work is not going unnoticed by the powers that be, that social work and social care are still held in high regard. It can be a powerful sales tool in helping to recruit new talent to the area of work.”
PayMatters are APSCo accredited, professional passport approved and are business partners with the Institute Of Recruiters (IOR). PayMatters pride themselves on being fully HMRC compliant from an employers and employees NI, PAYE and expense perspective. For further information please contact Richard Perch, Senior Business Development Manager on 01625 546 671, richard.perch@paymatters.co.uk
