The National Care Forum (NCF), the leading association for not-for-profit social care, has responded to the announcement today of the government’s Care Workforce Pathway.
Professor Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF said: “Today’s announcements are important first steps in adult social care workforce reform and will be welcomed by providers who have paused progression routes and activities in anticipation of the arrival of the pathway. The news that additional funding will become available for training and development in the sector is also welcome, although without details of what this will mean in practice it is difficult to determine impact. The commitment to train nearly 40,000 staff is a step up from the current position but represents under 10% of all new starters in the sector, and of course none of these commitments come with any focus on moving us closer to a set of pay, terms and conditions that match the skills and expertise laid out in the new pathway. The role of a care worker is complex and skilled – and a pathway without an accompanying properly funded pay structure will do little to attract and retain people to progress through the career structure.
“There are over 17,000 organisations delivering care and support across England – and it is vital that we have a workforce infrastructure that allows all organisations of all sizes to benefit from the changes outlined today. Social care delivers publicly funded services needed by millions of people each and every year. The government must make the strategic decision to ensure that it adequately funds the pay, terms and conditions of the workforce to ensure we have the care and support we need both now and in the future.”
