How national projects are helping to support the adult social care workforce

Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched several key initiatives to support the adult social care workforce and enhance staff skills. We hear from two individuals in the sector about their experiences with the Care Workforce Pathway and the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS), exploring how these are making a difference on the ground.

The Care Workforce Pathway

Vicki Steven, Senior Support Worker at Glassmoon Services, tells us about her experience participating in the early adopter programme of the Care Workforce Pathway.

Having recently come back from maternity leave, I’ve been keen to push my career forward after having what felt like quite an extended break from work. That’s why when I returned to Glassmoon and the idea of participating in the Care Workforce Pathway’s early adopter programme was suggested to me by my manager, I jumped at the chance.

To me, the Care Workforce Pathway looked like the ideal opportunity to get real visibility of how my career might progress. I wasn’t entirely sure how the process would work, but my employer gave me reassurance and once I was able to sit down with our learning coordinator, who supported me with the process, it became clear that it was a simple and intuitive way of establishing my career goals and getting visibility of what I’d need to do to hit those goals.

We worked our way through the exercises, and I found a variety of learning opportunities that would help me progress towards my objective of leading a service within five years. So, I’m now studying towards the completion of an autism level 2 qualification and a mental health level 3 qualification, both of which are recommended as part of the support worker role category within the Care Workforce Pathway. I’ve also been reading a book on leadership as it was recommended as part of the exercise that I start to try to develop more leadership skills.

I found this really useful, as even before I took a step back from work to take maternity, I knew that I wanted to pursue a more senior position within Glassmoon that would eventually lead to managing people, but was unsure as to how I might achieve many of the goals I had. Thankfully, before I took maternity, I was promoted to a senior support worker, which gave me a taste of leadership early on, as I now lead a small team of support workers and am involved in their regular one to ones.

In terms of my path forward, I’ll be pursuing a variety of different training opportunities in the near future. Next on my list is to put myself forward for crisis prevention institute (CPI) training and then hopefully begin to progress towards a full-time leadership position where I will pursue my Level 5 Health and Social Care qualification.

My takeaways from this experience were very positive. I think if you’re a progression-minded person, the Care Workforce Pathway will be an excellent tool for you to gain real clarity on what you need to move towards your goals. It helped me organise my loose collection of ideas for my career into a formal plan. I also found it had a secondary effect of motivating me to push for more learning. Without a real path forward, it can be difficult to see the point in trying to progression sometimes, but this gave me motivation to apply for additional learning opportunities to help move me along on the steps we’d laid out. Not only is this great for progressing in your career, but I’d say it will help improve the standard of care organisations are able to provide, because it makes training more accessible, which leads to services having wider and deeper sets of skills to offer the people they support.

My advice to anyone offered the opportunity to engage with the Care Workforce Pathway, or employers considering it for their staff, is simple: take it. The process is straightforward and, at least for me, it eliminated the uncertainty about where my career could go. Ultimately, staff want to progress, and employers want their teams to develop too. The Care Workforce Pathway is an effective tool to support that growth and removes any ambiguity along the way.

Find out more about the Care Workforce Pathway.

The Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS)

Joseph David, CEO at Crossroads Caring for Carers, tells us how he found the process of signing up to the LDSS and how it’s been used to upskill his staff.

Following the closure of the Workforce Development Fund, we learned about the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) and applied to continue supporting staff development, particularly qualifications.

The LDSS has broadened our development scope. Through our academy, we train our staff and those from other providers, with LDSS supporting staff in gaining qualifications aligned with our council contract. We prioritise qualifications, starting with the Care Certificate for new recruits, then we assess individual roles to identify further opportunities. For long-term staff, we encourage level 3 qualifications for roles like team leader or senior carer, and explore levels 4 and 5, with the funding covering assessor costs.

This funding is crucial for building a skilled domiciliary care workforce. Qualifications demonstrate commitment, enabling performance monitoring and targeted support. We're confident the new skills our staff have gained, thanks to this funding, have enabled us to improve the quality of care we offer in the community. Feedback from those we support highlights improvements in the way we work, which is fantastic. Staff dedication to learning and development has also positively impacted those we support and our wider relationships with the community.

The LDSS application was straightforward. Initially, the new system seemed daunting, but registration was user-friendly and allowed us to reuse information from previous funding applications. I shared my positive experience with other providers at monthly registered managers meetings.

We know that a skilled workforce is vital for success and that investment in our staff is crucial. Without this funding, costs would be prohibitive, especially as council funding doesn't always cover high wages and training costs. LDSS gives us the confidence to train as many staff as possible, ensuring even those who move on leave with valuable qualifications.

Find out more about the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS).

Make sure to visit our 'Learning and development matters' campaign landing page for more information.

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