Skills for Care has just published its 2023-24 Workforce Data Sets.
This report provides information about the size and composition of the adult social care workforce, including information relating to workforce supply and demand such as recruitment and retention statistics, international recruitment and statistics on the wider economy.
Having looked at the data from a training and qualification perspective, we’ve made the following observations:
- Is the continued reliance on international recruitment sustainable, and given that these individuals will not be eligible for ESFA funding, what impact will this have on the ambition to ‘professionalise’ the workforce via qualifications?
- 1.84 million people are working in the sector, yet only 675,000 individuals are accounted for within the ASC-WDS. Where are the other 1.2m people?
- If almost two-thirds of the sector is not included within the ASC-WDS, what impact will this have on access to funding for qualifications such as the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification?
- Will Labour mandate the completion of ASC-WDS as part of their drive towards a National Care Service?