Social care firms to get £1,500 apprentice subsidy

Social care employers will get £1,500 from the Department of Health for taking on an apprentice. The subsidy is part of the government’s plan to reduce unemployment. It has earmarked £75 million to get 50,000 jobless 18-to-24-year-olds into training.

The new adult social care workforce strategy is also intended to lure experienced graduates, managers and private sector leaders into the social care sector, the government said.

Care services minister Phil Hope said: “We want to encourage a new generation into social care – helping more of them make a difference in their communities, by taking on rewarding roles. This will bring new talent and skills to social care and fill the vacancies that have grown as the sector has expanded.”