Minister visits to plan the future of social care training

This month it was announced that the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is putting £500 million funding towards learning and development opportunities, including for people in social care. To ensure this spending is invested in the right areas, the DHSC is working with the social care sector and asking providers for feedback.

During a roundtable at our office on Tuesday 9 August, the Minister invited members of our Care and Support Department, Skills for Care, and Unique Training Solutions to share feedback on their new plans to improve colleague training and support. These plans include creating a new knowledge and skills framework to ensure clear paths to progress, delivering more professional development opportunities and introducing a skills passport and Care Certificate qualification.

All this will enable more people to develop and progress in their care careers, which will help ensure a consistently high quality of support for people receiving care services.

“It was fantastic to have a leading role in discussions with the Minister, as it’s important that the funding is used effectively and meets the realities of the care sector,” said Dave Black, Director of Care and Support Commissioned Services at Peabody

“The additional training funds will enable us to upskill our colleagues and provide a clear progression pathway for people who are starting or continuing a career in care and support. It also means people won’t need to repeat their training if they already have experience when they join us.”

Daniela Costanza, one of our Outreach Support Workers who joined the roundtable, added: “I hope this new funding will show people that being in care is an incredible, rich and skilled career, with unlimited possibilities. If you want to be an occupational therapist you know what qualifications you need and how you can progress, but in care the route upwards is currently less visible. Hopefully this new programme will change that.

“Having access to training and apprenticeships has enabled me to have had a rewarding career in the sector, and work in a variety of environments. I hope that more people can benefit from that too thanks to the new funding.” 

Minister for Care and Mental Health, Gillian Keegan said:“It was great to meet with Peabody, Unique Training Solutions and Skills for Care, alongside valued social care workers, to discuss strengthening our social care workforce.”

“The continuation of our Workforce Development Fund together with future training offers in the next three years will create hundreds of thousands of training opportunities enabling staff to develop their skills and continue delivering high-quality care for patients.”

• We provide care and support services for over 10,000 people in London and the South East, through partnerships with around 40 local authorities and NHS Trusts. Read about our Care and Support services.
  
  If you’re interested in joining our team and starting or continuing a career in care, we’d love to hear from you. Check out our job vacancies.