Job market information
Finding out about adult social care
Adult social care is part of the sector represented by Skills for Care, which is one of the partners that comprise Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council. This includes those working in early years, children and young people’s services, and those working in social work and social care for children and adults in the UK. The social care sector comprises two sub-sectors:
- Adult social care – with a workforce of nearly 1.5 million, accounting for 5% of England’s workforce, and 38,000 employers
- Children and young people – with an estimated workforce of 2.7 million
During 2007/08, approximately 2.3 million adults used publicly funded social work and social care services in the UK. Adult social care includes residential care, domiciliary care and social work with all its specialism's.
There are an estimated 1.5 million workers providing adult social care services and more than 38,000 employers. Skills for Care are responsible for the training standards and development needs of social work and social care staff working with adults in England. This includes staff working in local authority social services and related services, the regulated sector (care homes, domiciliary care services and home nursing services), non-regulated day care and community care services, and employed by individuals for their own or another person’s care and support.
Key facts:
- Of the 1.39 million in adult social care in England: 1.31 million are directly employed; and 78,000 are bank, pool and agency staff, students and others
- The adult social care workforce can also include:
- 25,460 full-time equivalent social workers
- 14,000 learning mentors
- 2,247 educational psychologists
- Of the 14,456 care-only homes registered with CSCI at June 2007:
- 9,870 (68%) are private sector
- 3,251 voluntary sector
- most of the remaining are operated by councils
- Most social care services (58%) are provided by micro organisations (or agencies) employing between 1-10 people or small enterprises (29%) employing between 11-49 people.
- 12% of social care enterprises employ 50-99 people and 1% employ 200 or more.
- In 2007, 54,151 individuals were receiving direct payments to fund their own care.
Jobs in adult social care include: administrative staff, ancillary staff, care workers, community support and outreach workers, counsellors, first-line managers, occupational therapists, registered managers, senior care workers, senior management, social workers, supervisors, technicians.
Entry and progression
Entry requirements vary for different types of jobs and occupations within the sector. There is no qualification requirement for many jobs within adult social care although the 14-19 diploma and apprenticeships are both routes in to the sector. Once in employment social care employees will develop skills through a formal induction process and are expected to study towards relevant qualifications (e.g. a National Vocational Qualification). Staff working with vulnerable adults must complete a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.
The most popular qualifications include: Levels 2 and 3 NVQ in Health and Social Care (for care workers and assistants including those with supervisory duties) and Level 4 NVQ Registered Manager Award (Adults) required by residential care home managers.
The way that qualifications are organised and structured is changing. The current Health and Social Care (HSC) NVQs level 2 and 3 will be replaced by Health and Social Care (HSC) Diplomas at Level 2 and 3. These will be launched in January 2011.
There will be options to take a generic HSC Diploma, or a specialist dementia or learning disability pathway, which will allow learners to tailor their learning to their job role.
The current leadership and management in care services (Registered Managers Award) and the Health and Social Care (HSC) NVQ level 4 will become a combined qualification at level 5. This qualification will also be launched January 2011.
There are qualification requirements for some occupations and specific roles, for example ‘social worker’ roles are regulated. All qualified social workers have to be registered with the General Social Care Council (GSCC) in England. To register as a social worker, individuals must hold one of the GSCC approved qualifications. These are usually a three year undergraduate degree course, but faster postgraduate routes are available.
For most jobs in the care sector some relevant experience is required. Volunteering is considered a good method of gaining experience and learning about the different areas of work in the sector. Many of the areas of required knowledge and skill for roles in the sector include:
- Understanding the importance of promoting dignity, confidentiality and respect
- Understanding and being able to assess risks
- Being reliable and dependable
- Knowledge of Health and Safety, moving and handling, fire safety, first aid and food hygiene
- Being able to communicate and understand the importance of ‘active listening’
There are great potential for those who have developed an appropriate range of skills to transfer within the social care sector, moving between settings to working with different service user groups. There are a number of opportunities for progression in the sector.
Skills for Care have developed a career pathways tool 
for those considering a career in social care and for those already working in the sector to show the range of career development opportunities.
For job specific entry requirements, take a look at our job profiles.
Workforce statistics
| Number of UK employees: |
1.5 Million people |
|---|
| Number of UK employers: |
38,000 |
|---|
| Gender: |
17% male |
83% female |
|---|
| 85%-90% of direct care providing jobs are occupied by women |
| Senior management roles remain male dominated |
| 80% of local authority social workers are female |
| 81% of learning mentors are female |
| 77% of educational psychologists are female |
| Ethnicity: |
78% of local authority social workers are white and 16% from Black Minority Ethnic groups |
|---|
| Age: |
When people started working in social care, 57% were 30 years and over, 32% were 40 years or older and 11% were 50 years or older |
|---|
| 47% of male educational psychologists is aged 55 years and over, compared with 26% of female workers |
| Staff in full day care settings: |
| 29% are aged 16-24 years |
| 43% 25-29 years |
| 17% 40-49 years |
| 10% 50 years and over |
Employment trends and future prospects
Employment trends for adult services, in particular adult social care, will reflect changes in population, social trends and government policy. Population projections forecast that the demand for social care will increase dramatically in the next twenty years. For example, the total number of people aged eighty years and over is projected to rise from 1.3 million in 2008 to 3.2 million by 2033. Demand for services may also rise faster depending upon social trends, for example if fewer older people are able to continue to receive care and support from a partner, from family or friends.
Despite recent employment growth, the increase in jobs in the sector may be slower or may even fall as a result of the recent recession and anticipated restrictions upon public spending. Nevertheless the number of personal assistants and other staff providing self-directed care is likely to continue to increase, with these roles rising as a proportion of the workforce, from 8% in 2006 to a forecasted 29% in 2025.
Numbers of care and support workers and other direct care providing roles are expected to increase less rapidly. Numbers of professional workers (social workers, occupational therapists, nurses and others) are also forecast to increase, but many of these will be nurses in residential settings. An increase in the number of professionals in community services, which includes council assessment, commissioning and care management activities, is also expected.
Skill requirements and shortages
In 2008, 36% of local authorities reported difficulties in recruiting adult social workers. It is important to note that there are differing sets of skills, competencies and expertise needed to work in the adult sector compared with those required for work in the children’s sector. Vacancy and turnover rates for social workers (collectively) in 2006 were almost 10%, which is considered high.
Local authorities have also reported a shortage of workers with commissioning, procurement and tendering/negotiation skills they need. More generally, employers report a lack of basic skills, communications/team working skills amongst new entrants.
Occupational trends
An increase in the number of people who use social care services starting to employ their own support staff is expected. This means that emerging roles are expected to include: personal assistants; support brokers; assessment and enablement officers; co-ordination and brokerage officers.
National and regional data
[N.B. National and regional data are currently unavailable.]
Salary levels
Levels of pay vary across the social care sector and are dependent on job role, type of employing organisation and the level experience required. There is also variation in pay levels across public, private and third sector employers. The following only provides an indication of salary levels.
In adult social care, the mean annual salaries of the workforce (in England and Wales, 2007) are:
- Care worker £17,088
- Social work assistants £19,751
- Social worker £28,389
Hourly Pay by Service Setting and Job Role (NMDS-SC, Dec 08 – Feb 09)
| Care Worker |
£6.48 |
£6.10 |
£6.80 |
|---|
| Senior Care Worker |
£6.83 |
£6.75 |
£7.08 |
|---|
More information about rates of pay in the adult social care sector can be obtained from the National Minimum Data Set – Social Care .
Salaries for learning mentors range from a starting salary of £11,000 to £24,000, whilst more senior posts range from £23,175 to £24,708.
Educational psychologists have a nationally negotiated pay agreement, salary ranges from:
- Assistant educational psychologist £25,824 to £28,981
- Trainee educational psychologist £21,007 to £28,693
- Scale A educational psychologist £31,302 to £41,001
- Scale B senior or principal educational psychologist £41,001 to £55,835
Career paths
Further sources
Produced Sept 2010, using Skills for Care and Development AACS LMI report (Jun 2010)
