Increasing Appeal of Care Roles: Strategies to Fill Social Care Posts
The number of social care jobs filled in 2023-24 increased by 4.2% compared to 2022-23—the highest rise that Skills for Care has registered since it began collecting the data a decade ago. This was particularly high as a result of adding care worker roles to the shortage occupation list at the end of 2021.
The workforce strategy also says that with the number of people over 65 in the UK set to soar over the next decade, it's estimated an extra 430,000 posts will be needed by 2035. So how do we make care roles more attractive to prospective applicants?
Talking about the Elephant in the Room: Better Pay
One of the major challenges on the attempt to attract candidates to social care jobs is that of offering a good salary. Though care providers may find it difficult to offer competitive salaries due to budget constraints, the competitive salary remains one of the critical causes that need to be addressed to make these roles more attractive.
Emphasis on Work-Life Balance
In this case, the attractiveness of care roles can be significantly improved by offering flexible working hours, part-time options, and support for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. While it is unlikely to be feasible for most roles, especially those that are being directly cared for, this can still be a valuable option within management and administration.
"I think flexible working is the way forward," Lauren Pashley, Recruitment Manager at Affinity Care Recruitment says succinctly. "Obviously this depends on the role, but for managerial roles, flexible working is definitely advantageous and would certainly go a long way in making these vacancies more appealing."
Promoting Professional Development
Training, certification, and career development opportunities are other factors that can make care roles appealing. Clearly defining the career progression and investing in the development of professionals show commitment to both long-term success and satisfaction.
For more information on training and development, check out our related article.
Showcasing Company Values and Mission
Care providers should communicate the quality of care commitment of their organisation and its core values. This will allow potential employees to understand the work that can be done and help them see the connection between their value system and that of the organisation.
Conclusion
The care providing sector will have to pay particular attention to making the roles more attractive, and it is high time that care providers developed strategies to do that. Work-life balance issues, promotion of professional development, focusing on company culture, addressing salary concerns, and listing unique benefits shall be ways that care providers get the right talent required in order to meet the increasing demand for social care services.
These steps could be taken not only to meet current demand but also to build a resilient and motivated workforce for the future.
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