A fresh white paper has been released, marking a significant update one year after a landmark workforce strategy, and it outlines key recommendations for care organisations.
Building on last July’s first-ever Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy in England, the document—titled Workforce Strategies for Care Providers—provides guidance for developing robust talent pathways under three primary pillars: training, attraction and retention, and transformation.
These recommendations were shaped by insights from a roundtable hosted by Browne Jacobson’s employment and HR services team. Attendees included leaders from independent residential and domiciliary care providers, sector advisers, charitable organisations, and representatives from the NHS.
Laura Chinyere‑Ezeh, HR Consultant at Browne Jacobson, commented that while the national strategy addresses workforce development at a broad level, it is vital for individual care providers to craft and implement their own tailored workforce approaches. She also noted that recent tightening of care-worker visa rules under the Government’s immigration white paper means that domestic recruitment and skills planning must become a priority.
Among the challenges highlighted were low participation by 18–24 year‑olds in the social care sector—just 8 per cent according to recent research. Contributing factors include parental discouragement and lack of awareness about the nature and benefits of care roles.
The white paper’s proposals can be summarised as follows:
- Train: Equip current managers and supervisors with leadership, operational and commercial competencies, complementing their existing governance and quality-focused skills.
- Attract & Retain: Improve care’s appeal by raising its profile among young people, highlighting rewarding career routes, piloting flexible working, and fostering greater diversity and inclusion.
- Transform: Promote deeper collaboration with the NHS, build mutual respect across sectors, challenge class-based bias, and establish clear, progressive career paths that span both health and social care.
The initiative emphasises proactive workforce planning to ensure care providers can maintain high-quality services well into the future.
Participants in the discussion included representatives from the Care Workers’ Charity, NHS Employers, BA Healthcare, Royal Star & Garter, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, and Banyan Care.
To read the full Workforce strategies for care providers report, click here
