Skills for Care’s latest campaign is focused on supporting staff retention in care.
Throughout May and June, the workforce development charity is helping social care providers to keep the right people working in their services, providing them with information and resources all about retaining staff, as well as practical tips, insights and stories from the sector.
Skills for Care says that staff retention in care comes down to forming an effective team that remains with you for the long-term.
Staff retention is a key problem in the adult social care sector. Skills for Care’s latest annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report, published in October 2023, revealed that 390,000 care workers left their jobs during the 12 months covered by the report, with around a third of these leaving social care altogether, highlighting a “leaky bucket” problem faced by the sector.
Skills for Care wants to encourage social care providers to invest in workforce retention measures, as keeping the right people in post helps to support the delivery of high-quality care, boosts staff wellbeing and yields time and cost savings as well as positive CQC ratings.
Training opportunities boost staff retention in care
Data gathered by Skills for Care suggests that employers with the best rates for staff retention in care focus on providing a range of relevant learning and development opportunities.
Staff retention in care is also boosted by the development of a positive workplace culture, effective recruitment processes and positive staff induction practises.
Skills for Care’s #KeepTheRightPeople campaign is running across their website, social media and other communication channels and includes content on:
- What a good induction looks like
- How to develop a positive workplace
- How to offer proper learning and development opportunities for staff
High staff retention in care leads to better outcomes
Skills for Care’s Head of Workforce Capacity, John Kerr, explains:
“One of our main strategic objectives is to make sure we have the right number of people, with the right values and behaviours, working in social care now and in the future.
“That’s why we’re focusing on providing information and support that can help employers to keep their staff for longer.
“Creating a loyal workforce which is dedicated to your service, and continuing to grow and upskill with you, means you can offer better care to the people you support.”
Social care employers can find out more about the #KeepTheRightPeople campaign, including information on staff retention in care, on the Skills for Care website. Resources include top tips for retention, retention webinars, an induction toolkit, a positive culture toolkit and a flexible working guide.
As the provision of ongoing learning and development opportunities is key to staff retention in care, Skills for Care also provide information on developing your workforce.
You can also follow the campaign and join in the staff retention conversation on social media using the hashtag #KeepTheRightPeople.
Training essential for care staff
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider.
They deliver over 7,000 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 care workers, 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, mandatory training awards, clinical skills, special focus courses and higher level training for supervisors and managers.
A Trainer at FRT, says:
“The adult social care workforce do an amazing, invaluable job that requires a lot of hard work.
“It is crucial that these roles are filled by the right people – those who are able to provide compassionate, person centred and dignified care and support for those who need it. To do this, they need proper support and high-quality training.
“Training should be provided for all care workers upon induction and they should then have access to ongoing training and development opportunities throughout their career – both to refresh skills and knowledge and to advance their expertise.”
For more information on the training provided by FRT, please call them on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.