A new toolkit has revealed the huge opportunity for care providers across the UK to instil a sense of value in their employees by upskilling them, which will help the industry combat ongoing staffing issues.
The insight, shared by Connect2Care, comes at a time when the sector is reeling from the news of reduced financial support from the government, following Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s recent announcement in his Mini Budget that the planned levy to fund social care will in fact now be dropped.
In order to alleviate the pressure felt by care professionals, and to support their career progression no matter their level of seniority, operators in the sector can look to training and diversifying a workforce’s skillset by training via an apprenticeship scheme.
Connect2Care’s research, which fuels its new See V toolkit – designed to educate care providers on how to spot and nurture talent residing within existing teams – has revealed that less than half of businesses (46.3%) offer apprenticeships to staff at all career levels, and most employees (58.5%) believe apprenticeships are only for school leavers.
In fact, only one quarter of employees (25.9%) see apprenticeships as a viable training option for anyone at any stage of their career.
However, more than 90% of care sector workers surveyed by Connect2Care said that if they were offered a job with the prospect of doing an apprenticeship to develop their skills, they would in fact take it.
“There are huge misconceptions around apprenticeships in the UK,” says Jill Whittaker OBE, Managing Director of Connect2Care. “Not only do most employees think that this type of training is not suited to their career stage, which is simply untrue, but employers often overlook the benefits that apprenticeships can bring an entire workforce, not just new starters – such as improved wellbeing because of better career progression. An upskilled workforce makes for a more loyal team less likely to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
“I urge anyone who’s interested in nurturing their team of care professionals and wants to transform the ambition many employees harbour into useful skillsets to download our new See V toolkit. It’s brimming with insight from leading HR professionals who can help guide the way to a workforce that feels valued by its employer – and following the news from the Mini Budget that will directly impact this industry, care workers need this type of support now more than ever.”
To discover a simple way to access lifelong career progression for your care team, download the toolkit today: https://connect2care.net/resources/the-see-v/
