Adult social care workforce Recruitment and Retention Implementation Plan - September 2011

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Purpose

This Recruitment and Retention Implementation Plan sets out a call to action to expand and strengthen recruitment and retention practices within the adult social care sector in England.

Effective recruitment and retention practices for the sector are a key element to ensuring that we are able to attract, develop and retain a workforce of quality that will be capable of delivering the new vision for adult social care.

The plan sets out what implementing this challenge will mean for Skills for Care, employers and their partners across the adult social care sector and all those who have a part to play. It covers: � the key themes � overall ambitions � specific elements � lead delivery roles � timescales.

The plan sets an ambitious pace. It is based upon the combined ambitions to emerge from both the Recruitment and Retention Department of Health’s sub-group where their chair, Sheila Scott launched their Recruitment and Retention Strategy in June 2011 and Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy Capable, Confident and Skilled, launched on the same day by Paul Burstow MP, Minister of State for Care Services. It will require innovative approaches to joint working, shared resourcing and a rapid spread of learning and embedding of good practice. Some elements need national planning for example, actions required to inform and develop policy, but change will ultimately be delivered locally by commissioners and providers of service, and above all by HR managers or those ultimately responsible for recruiting, developing and retaining their workforce and those engaged in community development and capacity building. This plan relies upon active involvement from employers if implementation is to be successful. It is intended to be a living document that the sector and it’s partners will help shape. For 2011/2012 it will be backed by further details as we take into account the developing activities that will influence this work, such as the planning for the new sector-based work academies. In future months it will be revisited as part of the continuing work of the Recruitment and Retention Department of Health sub-group and Skills for Care, and revised as necessary as part of their wider remit.

Please note that this implementation plan is cross-referenced to the implementation plan for Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy Capable, Confident and Skilled and the reader should refer to this plan where indicated for a more in-depth description of the work planned in these specific areas.

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Key theme: Promoting social care

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy

Overall ambition:To attract a diverse workforce that will be competent and capable enough to deliver bespoke services that will enable, empower and facilitate people to become active citizens

Elements: � Better explain social care and the contributions that it can make to the Big Society � Improved public awareness � Selling the value, rewards and longevity of a career in social care � Promoting career opportunities � Elevating the status of social care work and affirming professionalism

Action By whom WhenReview and where necessary update materials and resources to support recruitment and retention. Consolidate into a central resource hub and promote the hub to all stakeholders.Agree plans for sustainability

Skills for Care, employers and their representative groups, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) / Jobcentre Plus

Review March 2012 and March 2013

Update the career pathways e-tool to promote the adult social care sector, careers available within it and progression routes to include new case studies and new qualifications.

Skills for Care September 2011

Test appetite for locality based public awareness campaigns and report back to the DH Working Group with implications for resources required.

Skills for Care March 2012

Review and re-launch of the Care Ambassador schemes. This will include supporting them to work alongside Jobcentre Plus advisors and the range of other stakeholders who are working to implement the ‘Get Britain Working’ initiative.

Skills for Care and employers

April 2012

Recruit case studies to promote good practice examples to ensure materials remain relevant and fresh. This will be done under the “I Care…” branding.Promote these resources and monitor effectiveness

Skills for Care, employers and their representative organisations, people who use services

Bi-annual reviews and refreshes

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Design and deliver a series of recruitment and retention road shows to promote the Recruitment and Retention Strategy and gain support from employers to implement the action plan. Evaluate the road shows and determine future events of this kind should the evaluations dictate.

Skills for Care July 2011

Advise on ‘Get Britain Working’ campaign and establish partnerships to promote initiatives such as the Care Sector Routeway and sector-based work academies to support unemployed people into sustainable social care job roles. This will include supporting Jobcentre Plus staff, employer partnerships and all those involved in the delivery of the Work Programme.Ensure recruitment campaigns promote the roles and opportunities for all e.g. young people, career changers, men and older people and those with higher skills levels wishing to use/adapt those skills to work in adult social care settings.

Develop materials that show the contribution of above.

Jobcentre Plus/Careers advisors, employers and their representative organisations, Skills for Care, Sector-based work academy contractors, DWP, Media

Quarterly reviews

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Key theme: Attracting a diverse workforce

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy - Standards, learning and qualifications, Apprenticeships and Carers sections

Overall ambition:To grow the adult social care workforce by targeting and attracting diverse individuals with a range of skills that can enhance the sector

Elements: � Career transitions � Older workers � Encouraging volunteering and community capacity building � Equalities and gender balance � Ensuring an appropriate workforce

Action By whom WhenTargeted approaches to young people in education and their support networks, teachers and careers advisors to promote increased awareness of the sector and entry

Skills for Care, employers, education and careers advisors

on-going

Capture and maintain links with people in career transition (returners, redundancies, career changers) to promote the options of a future within social care (up-skilling, paid/voluntary work, self employment etc) Develop and test strategies for mass redundancy situations

Workonit launched

Skills for Care, employersJobcentre Plus

April 2011

March 2012

Support the role of people who use services as employers and their workforceLaunch of Personal Assistants FrameworkDevelop the level of guidance and support available to people who use services and their carers when they become responsible for employing personal assistants

Service user networks and groupsDepartment of HealthSkills for Care

July 2011

Involve people who use services to emphasise impact of social care on their lives and integrate good practice examples into promotional materials

Service users/networks and groups to include people who use services as employers

annually

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Key theme: Managing new interests and recruits

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy - Standards, learning and qualifications and Autonomous professionals sections

Overall ambition:A professional, informed and well resourced process around pre-recruitment, recruitment, appointment and retention

Elements: � Nurturing new recruits � Ensure direct employers are given targeted information to support their recruitment and

retention needs � Developing new career pathways that recognise developing specialities � Developing incentives for retention and career progression � Supporting a community-based approach to care and support

Action By whom WhenPromote the Common Induction Standards and their relevance to recruitment and retention rates. Support employers to use these standards and signpost to materials that do this. Refresh Managers Induction Standards

Skills for Care EmployersTraining Providers

on-going

December 2011

Provide information, guidance and signpost to materials to support employers to establish from theonset opportunity and mechanisms for supervision/appraisal/tailored training packages for CPD (e.g. Apprenticeship, new qualifications and units (QCF), in-house training and support)

Linked to new qualifications (QCF)Skills Funding Agency

Test out and develop new career pathways to take into account specialised job roles, individual expertise, diversity of supporting roles and new types of employers

Skills for CareEmployers

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Key theme: Retention

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy - Standards, learning and qualifications, Workforce redesign, Innovation and community skills development sections

Overall ambition:A rigorous approach to retaining and developing staff that encompasses a range of good practice initiatives to promote organisational and individual well-being

Elements: � Personal development and growth � Organisational development and growth

Action By whom WhenPromote the role of implementing quality rewards and incentive packages to aid retention with examples of good practice and case studies from employers

Skills for CareEmployers

March 2012

Encourage leaders and managers to understand their role and influence in recruiting and retaining their workforce and enable them to access the relevant training and support to do this

National Skills Academy for Social Care Leadership and Management StrategySkills for Care new qualifications

Recognise that good practice in recruitment and retention should encompass the individuals and communities providing additional unpaid services and support

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Key theme: Research and intelligence

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy - Workforce intelligence and research section

Overall ambition:A continuous programme of activity to inform recruitment and retention initiatives

Elements: � Inform and influence national policy development, local initiatives, individual businesses,

service and workforce developments

Action By whom WhenA baseline survey to gauge public perception of social care, it’s value, understanding of job roles and careers. Utilise the outcomes of this survey to plan further actions

Skills for Care and Development

September 2011

Identify gaps in research evidence that could inform recruitment and retention initiatives. Identify opportunities to fund specific research needs as identified by employers and use the outcomes to inform policy development and/or local practice

Skills for CareEmployers People who use services

on-going

Interrogation of the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) to inform research and policy development, for example reliance on migrant workers and to signpost and predict future trends and developments

Skills for Care On-going or at specific times requestedQuarterly updates

Promote research, materials and resources to showcase what works well in recruitment and retention via the Skills for Care Research Data-base and timely briefings and updates

EmployersSkills for Care

On-going via sign-posting and updates

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Key theme: Standards, learning and qualifications

Please cross reference with Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Strategy - Standards, learning and qualifications section

Overall ambition:To enable a diverse workforce, employed by increasingly new and diverse employers to access high quality learning and support

Elements: � Clear information about training and funding support � Quality assurance � Effective and consistent induction � The new qualifications (QCF) underpin an employer and sector-led approach ensuring that

qualifications are fit for purpose and represent value for money � Engaging with the supply side to ensure what they offer meets the needs of employers and

the new agenda

Action By whom WhenPromote the use of Common Induction Standards as a basis to all entry into employment initiatives within the sectorExpand the use of these standards and all common core principles to support employers and their workforce

Skills for Care EmployersDWPJobcentre PlusEducation/Careers advisors

on-going

Continue to develop, manage, maintain and promote apprenticeship programmes and demonstrate how engagement with these programmes can aide recruitment and retention initiatives for the sector

Support employers to understand the importance of skills development in terms of business benefits and retention and provide/signpost to resources to promote this

Skills for Care Signpost employers to materials

Ensure employers have the most effective functional skills/skills for life and employability support and that these issues remain high on the agenda

Skills for CareEmployers

Promote the National Skills Academy for Social Care Leadership Strategy and the Quality Endorsement Framework for Social Care

National Skills Academy for Social CareDH Group to support

on-going

Useful resources

Practical tools to help support recruitment and retentionwww.skillsforcare.org.uk/recruitment

Career pathways e-toolwww.skillsforcare.org.uk/careerpathways

Common Induction Standardswww.skillsforcare.org.uk/cis

New qualifications and units (QCF)www.skillsforcare.org.uk/qcf

Apprenticeshipswww.skillsforcare.org.uk/apprenticeships

Care Sector Route-waywww.skillsforcare.org.uk/caresectorrouteway

Skills for Lifewww.skillsforcare.org.uk/skillsforlife

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© Skills for Care 2011