2012 Conference Presentation
Abstract
This presentation will use data from a longitudinal study of the social care workforce funded by the Department of Health to present employers’ views on the challenges of recruitment and retention in the social care workforce.
Internationally, the challenge of recruiting a long term care workforce that is sufficiently trained and skilled to support the increasingly complex needs of people using services is well known and there is an extensive literature documenting the difficulties reported by employers, including the poor levels of pay and the low status of care work.
This presentation will use data from 68 in-depth face to face longitudinal interviews with employers to discuss the various ways in which employers recruit and select workers to work in care homes and in service users’ own homes. It will highlight the challenges of identifying sufficient people with the right personal qualities and interpersonal and practical skills needed to work in these settings. It will describe some of the strategies used by employers to develop the skills of their workforce and to encourage workers to remain in their employment.