The Department of Health and Social Care has announced an initiative to recruit up to 110,000 young workers into social care. But sceptics are worried the new plans don’t do enough to support carers looking to work in London.
Social care work in the capital has a high turnover rate, with 27.2% of its 188000 work force lasting just one year in the job. Furthermore, just 16% of the workforce are aged under 24, highlighting the difficulty the social care industry faces in attracting workers.
Yet the government are urgently looking to recruit youth, with demands for health care workers set to soar by up to 40% by 2035, as London’s population gets older. They are hoping their ‘Everyday is Different Campaign’ will be a catalyst for youth recruitment.
But long hours, low pay, and a high pressured and under appreciated working environment has caused a slump in youth applications in recent years.
Frances Ainsworth, a 23-year-old nurse from Tooting, who was previously involved in the social care system, said there was a complete lack of understanding towards the complexity of the job. “People often think that because you don’t necessarily need A-Levels or high qualification to be a carer, that it is an easy career. The reality is you are dealing with very traumatic diseases, like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.”
“I have been spat at, scratched, and called names, but you just have to remember it’s the disease not them.”
Karolina Gerlich, a full time carer and spokeswoman for the National Association of Care & Support (NACAS) agreed with Frances. “When people go into care, they often don’t realise how hard the job really is, and they end up doing things they had no idea was involved in the job.”
Gerlich attributed this to one of the many reasons working in care has an extremely high turnover rate, as workers get “burnt out” quickly by the job.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have pledged to promote the benefits of the job, and find candidates with “the right personal values” for the job.
But the Gerlich, this is just a marketing campaign. She claims the DHSC’s campaign will be a waste if they don’t do more to support working carers, particularly in the capital.
She highlighted a travel allowance, social support and temporary accommodation as being just a few ways the DHSC could make living and working in London be affordable for the notoriously underpaid social care workforce. It is an industry that has seen mean pay rise just 51p in the last 6 years.
For social worker Helena, from Ealing, being a carer, however, is not about money. “The feeling you get from helping someone, knowing what you have done has made them better, that feeling can’t be explained. If anything the DHSC should offer more work experience opportunities so people know if it’s for them.”
Working in Social Care is clearly a noble profession, and the DHSC appear serious in their desire to demonstrate that to new workers.
But for Frances, their new campaign is just the next stage in false promises from the DHSC. “Its just words, just words. Unless something really changes their will be no incentives to work in social care.”
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HeadlineClinical experts say government recruitment plan won’t fix London social care crisis
Short Headline'Govt recruitment plan won't fix social crisis'
StandfirstLong hours, low pay, and a high pressured and under appreciated working environment has caused a slump in youth applications in recent years.
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced an initiative to recruit up to 110,000 young workers into social care. But sceptics are worried the new plans don’t do enough to support carers looking to work in London.
Social care work in the capital has a high turnover rate, with 27.2% of its 188000 work force lasting just one year in the job. Furthermore, just 16% of the workforce are aged under 24, highlighting the difficulty the social care industry faces in attracting workers.
Yet the government are urgently looking to recruit youth, with demands for health care workers set to soar by up to 40% by 2035, as London’s population gets older. They are hoping their ‘Everyday is Different Campaign’ will be a catalyst for youth recruitment.
But long hours, low pay, and a high pressured and under appreciated working environment has caused a slump in youth applications in recent years.
Frances Ainsworth, a 23-year-old nurse from Tooting, who was previously involved in the social care system, said there was a complete lack of understanding towards the complexity of the job. “People often think that because you don’t necessarily need A-Levels or high qualification to be a carer, that it is an easy career. The reality is you are dealing with very traumatic diseases, like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.”
“I have been spat at, scratched, and called names, but you just have to remember it’s the disease not them.”
Karolina Gerlich, a full time carer and spokeswoman for the National Association of Care & Support (NACAS) agreed with Frances. “When people go into care, they often don’t realise how hard the job really is, and they end up doing things they had no idea was involved in the job.”
Gerlich attributed this to one of the many reasons working in care has an extremely high turnover rate, as workers get “burnt out” quickly by the job.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have pledged to promote the benefits of the job, and find candidates with “the right personal values” for the job.
But the Gerlich, this is just a marketing campaign. She claims the DHSC’s campaign will be a waste if they don’t do more to support working carers, particularly in the capital.
She highlighted a travel allowance, social support and temporary accommodation as being just a few ways the DHSC could make living and working in London be affordable for the notoriously underpaid social care workforce. It is an industry that has seen mean pay rise just 51p in the last 6 years.
For social worker Helena, from Ealing, being a carer, however, is not about money. “The feeling you get from helping someone, knowing what you have done has made them better, that feeling can’t be explained. If anything the DHSC should offer more work experience opportunities so people know if it’s for them.”
Working in Social Care is clearly a noble profession, and the DHSC appear serious in their desire to demonstrate that to new workers.
But for Frances, their new campaign is just the next stage in false promises from the DHSC. “Its just words, just words. Unless something really changes their will be no incentives to work in social care.”
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