Demand is growing for skilled people to work in the care sector and Liverpool City Region’s Skills Brokerage service is ready to help care providers address their recruitments and skills needs

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in March 2020 the health and social care sector has been put in the spotlight like never before.

In particular, we have seen how people working in the social care sector had to adapt quickly to meet this once-in-a-generation challenge. Adult social care is a growing sector and there is significant demand for skilled people.

Adult social care offers a number of different skilled roles with good long-term employment prospects and job security. The focus is on supporting people to maintain their independence and dignity. It is a career that can be hugely rewarding. However, in August, the UK’s biggest care sector recruitment site, carehome.co.uk, reported the number of vacancies in care had doubled in six months. During that month the number of vacancies stood at 8,142 – up from 4,959 in August 2020.

A spokesperson for carehome.co.uk said: “This is the highest ever amount of job vacancies we have had and it shows care homes are seeing a huge increase in demand for more care staff.”

Jobcentre Plus regularly highlights the demand for care staff in the Liverpool City Region. There are currently an estimated 1.5m people working in adult social care and it is estimated that by 2035, another 580,000 people will be needed.

Supporting local care providers to recruit and train their staff is part of the remit of the Growth Platform’s Skills Brokerage Service, a valuable free resource set up to ensure employers have the right skills within their business to enable them to grow and meet the demands of their service users.

Skills Brokers provide free expert advice on training and funding and employers can find examples of the type of health and social care courses previously funded through the work undertaken by the Brokerage service on Growth Platform’s website by clicking here.

Growth Platform’s Skills Brokers can also support employers with free advice on how to access government incentive payments and local grants. The Be More Apprenticeship Portal also offers Liverpool City Region based employers the opportunity to advertise their apprenticeship vacancies for free.

Joe Keegan from Growth Platform’s Skills Brokerage Service team, said: “Adult social care is one of the fastest-growing business sectors in the City Region. Demand for skilled staff is high and constant.

“We know there are care providers that are struggling to find the staff they need. Training and apprenticeships offer an ideal path to addressing this skills shortage.

“Our team of experienced Skills Brokers offer a wealth of knowledge to help businesses in the health and care sector recruit and upskill the people they need. Investing in training is a fantastic way to grow and future proof your business. Get in touch today and we can start helping your business straight away.”

Growth Platform’s Skills Brokerage Service is a one-stop-shop where businesses can find a wealth of support on all funding available for skills across the Liverpool City Region and can even provide up to 70% of training costs for training required by employers which is not funded through any other publicly funded route.

If you are an employer in the City Region looking for skills or apprenticeship advice and/or funding then you can get in touch with Growth Platform’s Skills Brokers here. This service is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and Strategic Investment Fund (SIF).