New research is warning there will be a severe shortage of health and social care workers in the future, with two million more staff needing to be trained and recruited by 2022.
Research from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) shows that rising demand for care will mean 50% more staff will need to be employed in this sector. It also reveals that the average age of those working in this market is between 50 to 64, so a large proportion of the existing workforce is due to retire in the years ahead.
The findings also show many employees in health and social care think they have limited opportunities to progress to higher level roles, causing many younger workers to leave the sector.
Vicki Belt, assistant director at UKCES, said: ‘These findings demonstrate the dramatic extent of this need – health and social care is already the largest sector in the UK, yet to meet the rising need for care we will need to see a 50% increase in the number of people working in these fields.
‘However, the problem goes beyond just a need to recruit. Employers must do more to create attractive career pathways through which people can progress, as well as develop training routes which can apply to roles in both health and social care - opening access to all areas the sector.’
The Skills and Performance Challenges in Health and Social Care report calls on employers to create more training opportunities and intermediary roles to allow for career progression.