Skills for Care has launched its ‘Learning and development matters’ campaign to promote the benefits of training for those working in social care.
Every January and February, the national workforce development charity repeats its campaign to urge adult social care managers and their teams to #KeepLearning. The annual campaign receives positive feedback from across the sector.
This year, Skills for Care want to emphasise the positive impact of ongoing learning and development for social care staff at all levels and showcase the many learning opportunities available to the sector.
Social care learning and development brings key benefits
Skills for Care outlines some of the key benefits of providing learning and development opportunities for social care staff. These include:
- Improved quality of care for people using services and their families
- Better staff retention, reducing recruitment costs for employers and creating a more stable, effective workforce
- Enhanced job satisfaction, with social care workers experiencing improved morale and a more fulfilling career
On their website, they explain that learning and development forms “the heart of any social care organisation’s success, as investing in these areas is key to retaining a capable workforce.”
Crucially, they add:
“Retaining staff is something that our sector needs to do better if we’re to keep up with the increasing demand for care services.”
Improved learning and development can address workforce retention challenges
Their most recent report into the State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England highlighted the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges faced by sector.
The turnover rate from 2023-24 remained high, at nearly 1 in 4 posts (24.8%), while Skills for Care warned that the sector needs to grow by 540,000 extra posts in addition to filling current vacancies if it is to go in proportion to the number of people aged over 65 in the population.
The report makes clear that social care recruitment is a key issue of our time.
Meanwhile, Skills for Care’s Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care, published last year, identifies learning and development as a crucial area of improvement for the sector.
Skills for Care data shows that social care workers who are provided with more learning and development opportunities have a lower turnover rate. Additionally, organisations who prioritise staff training tended to perform better during Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections.
Skills for Care campaign includes a range of free resources
As 2025 gets underway, Skills for Care wants to use the Learning and development matters campaign to encourage care providers to invest in staff training and to focus on some of the recent changes to the social care learning and development landscape, including the following key points:
- Introducing the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate Qualification
- Highlighting the ongoing development of the Care Workforce Pathway
- Explaining how to access funding in 2025 through the Learning and Development Support Scheme.
As always, Skills for Care will ensure that adult social care workers can access a wealth of information, articles and resources as part of their learning and development campaign.
This will include real-life case studies and expert blogs as well as the following guides and resources:
- Supporting others with learning
- Learning specialist skills
- Learning for leaders and managers
- Learning for individual employers and personal assistants
- Learning for regulated professionals
You can follow the campaign and join in the conversation on social media by searching or using the hashtag #KeepLearning.
High quality learning and development for social care
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider. They deliver over 6,000 courses each year in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, food safety, mental health, health and social care and other special focus topics.
Their diverse portfolio includes training awards designed for health and social care organisations, such as Infection Control and Prevention, Safeguarding Adults, Duty of Care, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Person Centred Care and Support and many others.
Their course portfolio spans Care Certificate standards, Level 2 and Level 3 Awards and training for supervisors and managers.
A trainer from FRT explains:
“People accessing care services need to be supported by people who have the right skills to help them lead fulfilling lives.
“The importance of ongoing learning and development for the adult social care workforce cannot be underestimated. It is key to ensuring that this essential care and support is provided in an effective, safe, dignified and person centred way.
“There is also evidence that providing proper training and further development opportunities can help to improve recruitment and retention issues for social care employers, helping ease pressures across the sector.”
FRT also offers a range of free downloadable resources to help you identify and address social care learning and development needs. These include:
- Statutory and Mandatory Care Training Guide
- Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training: Quick Guide
- What’s Changing with the Care Certificate?
- The Benefits and Costs of eLearning
- How to Respond to an Emergency
- Delegated Healthcare Tasks: All You Need to Know
- Why Learning and Development Should Be a Top Priority in 2025
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.