GMB warn of ‘disastrous’ black hole in social care recruitment across England

The social care sector in England has a “disastrous” staffing black hole, with more than 75,000 vacant roles, new research suggests.

A study by the GMB union for care workers indicated that London and the South East are worst affected regions, with 14,000 vacancies each.

There are almost 10,000 vacancies in the East of England and more than 8,000 in the North West and South West, with vacancy rates for care workers running at a “staggering” 9.1% – more than three times the average for all jobs, said the GMB.

GMB national officer Kelly Andrews, said: “Years of neglect has left our care sector with a disastrous staffing black hole. For years, care has been treated as a Cinderella service, when in reality this is a highly-skilled, vital job that we all rely on.

“It’s time that care workers are recognised as the skilled workers that they are, with decent wages, good training opportunities and a clear path to career progressions.

“Without urgent action the problem is going to get worse and worse until the whole system is at risk of collapsing.”

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Regional breakdown of care worker vacancies in 2018  – the latest date for which figures are available.