Skills for Care launches spotlight on workforce retention support for social care employers

Skills for Care has launched a spotlight on supporting social care employers with workforce retention, through October and November.

The organisation, which provides information, tools, and resources to support the social care workforce, will be putting a focus on supporting retention in October and November. They’re using #RetainToGain to group and share their new and existing information across all their channels to help social care employers manage retention, during what is a particularly challenging time for the sector.

Skills for Care has also created a hub page on their website for the activity where social care employers can find key resources, information, blogs, and articles to help with retention.

This includes information on investing in staff’s learning and development – including funding options available, tools for supporting with staff wellbeing and creating a positive workplace culture, and support specifically around retaining registered managers.

As part of the activity Skills for Care will also be creating a series of articles covering top tips and resources to support retention, alongside interviews with thought-leaders in the sector, and blog contributions from social care colleagues.

Jim Thomas (pictured), Head of Workforce Capacity and Transformation at Skills for Care, commented: “It’s vital that we provide a key focus on the retention support that we have available, during what is a particularly challenging time for the sector.

“Supporting retention is a key factor in growing and developing the sector’s workforce capacity to meet the growing demand for care and support in the future.

“Our data tells us that the number of jobs in social care will need to grow by almost half a million by 2035 to match the growth of the population aged over 65. That’s why it’s so important that we hold onto our existing colleagues and new talent entering the sector.

“Key elements to supporting retention include investing in staff development, prioritising wellbeing, and embedding organisational values. These are all key areas which our #RetainToGain work will focus on.”

All of the #RetainToGain information, resources, blogs, and articles can be found at: skillsforcare.org.uk/RetainToGain