SSSC to be retained as sector skills council for the Scotland

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) as part of Skills for Care and Development (SfC&D) has been relicensed by government as the UK sector skills council for the social care, children and young peoples workforce.

Todays announcement by Lord Mandelson comes following an assessment by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and the National Audit Office (NAO).

Garry Coutts, Convener of the SSSC said:

As the sector skills council for the social service workforce in Scotland we are delighted with today’s announcement. This is a growing workforce, which includes social work, social care, children’s and older people’s services and provides care and support to thousands of people. It is crucial that they have the skills for these demanding jobs. The people of Scotland deserve excellent social services, delivered by qualified people with strong personal qualities and values.

This confirms that our partnership across the four nations is strong and the right way to deliver a pan-UK approach to building a confident, competent social service workforce. We have many challenges ahead in the sector, indeed across public services and we can face them from a position of strength.

Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the SSSC said:

Services will need to change in the coming years to meet high public expectations of personalised support in a context of reducing expenditure and growing demand. Highly developed workforce planning is essential to delivering those changes and working with employers allows us to make sure the occupational standards and qualifications that are needed to provide the highest quality of care are available.

The SSSC is leading on that in Scotland, working closely with employers, education & learning providers, workers and people who use services. Through our partnership in SfCD and our close relationships with other sector skills councils, we can ensure that the four nations learn from each other, offer UK-wide solutions where appropriate and minimise cross-border barriers wherever possible.

Sector Skills Councils are employer-led bodies, established to enable employers to exert influence on the UKs education and skills systems to ensure they meet their needs.