Martin Ford 05 August 2019

Report: 580,000 more social workers needed by 2035

More than 500,000 social care jobs in England will need to be filled by 2035, a new report has predicted.

Skills for Care’s annual report on the English care workforce has projected that it will need to grow by a third - amounting to 580,000 jobs - to keep pace with growing numbers of people aged over 65.

The research also found that, although the size of the workforce has grown over the past decade, the number of adult social care workers employed by councils has fallen.

Since 2009 the number of adult social care jobs has increased by 290,000 – just short of a quarter – reaching an estimated 1.62 million last year.

However, local authority jobs have decreased by 37% - or 65,000 jobs - shrinking from a 14% share of the workforce to 7%.

The report said that outsourcing, restructures, service closures, budget cuts and redundancies were among the reasons for the decrease in council jobs.

Independent sector jobs, covering commercial and not-for-profit employers, have increased by 30% since 2009, accounting for more than three-quarters of the sector last year.

If the adult social care workforce grows in proportion to the projected number of people aged 65 and over, the number of adult social care jobs will increase by 580,000 jobs to around 2.2 million by 2035.

Skills for Care interim chief executive officer, Andy Tilden, said: ‘The report shows the obvious contribution our growing workforce makes supporting people to live the lives they want, but also that our sector is now a key part of our national economy.

'As we estimate we will need to fill another 580,000 jobs by 2035 that contribution is only going to grow so we need to start thinking about how that is factored into economic planning - locally and nationally.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Teaching Assistant - SENSS Ormerod Resource Base

Oxfordshire County Council
£25992 - £28163
About usThe SENSS Ormer... Woodstock
Recuriter: Oxfordshire County Council

Caretaker/Cleaner

Ashfield District Council
£13,400 - £13,612 per annum (pay award pending)
Predominantly, you will be working alone, so knowledge of Lone Working is essential. Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Recuriter: Ashfield District Council

Coastal Processes Scientist

North Yorkshire Council
£37,035 to £41,511 per annum
Are you passionate about protecting and enhancing our stunning coastline? Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council

Development Engineer

London Borough of Bexley
£35,967 - £41,268 per annum
Are you ready to play a key role in shaping and safeguarding the future of our highways and public spaces? Bexley (City/Town), London (Greater)
Recuriter: London Borough of Bexley

Lawyer 1 - Litigation

Herefordshire Council
£39,513 - £43,693
We are looking for a fresh thinking and enthusiastic Litigation Lawyer to join our dedicated and friendly Litigation Team within Legal Services. Hereford, Herefordshire
Recuriter: Herefordshire Council
Linkedin Banner