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Sector Outlook
The adult social care sector employs around 1.7 million people and comprises 21,900
organisations. The majority of personnel provide direct care working as either care
workers, personal assistants or counsellors.
Social workers make up less than 10% of the sector although many employers such as
local authorities, private care homes and some voluntary organisations find it difficult to
recruit suitably qualified social workers. The number of local authorities reporting difficulties
in recruiting for the role has recently increased to 46% for recruitment and 28% for retention
problems. Notably probation workers and occupational therapists are also in short supply.
You may find it useful to keep an eye out for publicity drives in your local areas as steps are
taken to address such shortages. The Department for Health and the Department for Work
and Pensions have launched a £75 million “CareFirst” initiative to get 50,000 unemployed
young people into social care jobs. In some cases, however, there will be an emphasis on
recruiting non-qualified and lower paid staff to work in telephone advice centres.
By 2025 the number of jobs in the sector is predicted to grow by 2.6 million, especially
as the government is keen to provide service users with more care options. Forecasts
suggest that a 50% increase in recruitment will take place within a relatively short
timeframe with professional and personal services seeing the most rapid growth.
To help you find the right job opportunity its worth paying pay close attention to current
trends within the sector. It is predicted that the number of young people aged 16 years
will increase to 12.2 million by 2018 and again to 12.8 million by 2033. Such growth
could generate a greater demand for social care services. Already in some parts of the
UK around 72% of employers report difficulty in recruiting children’s social workers
and 60% report retention difficulties. Other factors such as continuing high levels of
unemployment and the expectation that the number of people aged 85 years will double
over the next twenty-five years further confirms the forecast.
As with health care, government cuts have led to funding issues for some organisations,
which means that you could find it more of a challenge to find relevant experience that so
many social care posts require. Similarly many councils are cutting their social care budgets
so it worthwhile extending your job search to include independent employers.
As well as keeping an eye on future trends, its worth knowing that many employers in
the sector are looking for candidates that can demonstrate qualities of leadership and
management. Other desirable skills include the ability to facilitate change and negotiate
win-win outcomes, especially in light of the changing nature of service delivery. You’ll
also improve your position if you can work on a flexible basis and offer specialist
expertise such as the implementation of assistive technology that would enable
service users to remain at home.
Social Care