The Access Group has announced it is making £250,000 available for care providers to invest in apprenticeships and training.
With Skills for Care warning that the adult social care sector needs to fill around 112,000 job vacancies on any given day, The Access Group has partnered with apprenticeship and vocational training provider Impact Futures to offer ring-fenced funding to its clients which includes over 10,000 registered UK care providers.
Operators can use this funding with Impact Futures, who will deliver the training to upskill existing staff or introduce new employees through its free apprenticeship recruitment service.
The funds, generated from unspent contributions from The Access Group to the apprenticeship levy, will be available on a first come, first served basis so any applicants are encouraged to act fast. To spread the benefits as widely as possible, care organisations can apply for funding for a maximum of two employees each.
Steve Sawyer, Managing Director of The Access Group’s health and social care division, said: “The announcement of additional funding for the health and social care sector is a welcome development but it is no secret that employers in the health and social care sector have a huge challenge in recruiting, retaining and upskilling staff to deliver the highest possible standards of care.
“It is because of this that we wanted to give something back to the sector and support operators up and down the country with further resources to attract and retain a new generation of care workers and to upskill their existing workforce in partnership with Impact Futures.”
Guy Helman, CEO of Impact Futures, said: “Working with employer partners such as The Access Group, we’re able to provide amazing opportunities to health and social care businesses that need to recruit and upskill their workforce like never before. The ability to transfer apprenticeship levy funds to these employers will be vital in the UK’s economic recovery from both the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit – both of which have hit staffing and retention in the healthcare sector hard.”
Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, added: “Apprenticeships provide a valuable route into worthwhile and rewarding careers and I applaud the Access Group’s work on ensuring these apprenticeship opportunities are widely available to both apprentices and employers”
