Pharmafile Logo

COVID-19 is redefining the value of ‘critical jobs’: An opportunity for social care?

April 8, 2020 |  

Despite the varied and rewarding nature of a job which makes a real difference to the lives of adults from a range of backgrounds every single day, it is fair to say that a career in social care has had something of an image problem.

Some might say that it has taken a global pandemic for social care workers to start to be given the value, credit and recognition that they have long deserved. Many misplaced assumptions – low skilled work, lack of career progress – have been challenged overnight as care workers have been elevated to equivalent status to NHS staff, both risking their lives to ensure that the country’s most vulnerable are looked after and protected during COVID-19 and beyond.

Despite the rewards that a career in social care brings, many care providers have found it challenging to recruit for all available positions, exacerbated by a high staff turnover rate of 30%. Many have looked abroad to fill the void, with approximately 20% of the adult social care workforce originating from outside the UK, including from other European countries, the British Commonwealth and beyond. With Government efforts to limit immigration and end the UK’s reliance on overseas workers, new legislation is on the horizon for 2021 which will make it harder for social care companies to recruit from abroad.

It is my view that there is now an immediate opportunity for social care providers to look closer to home when it comes to recruiting talent. As a consequence of coronavirus, tens of thousands of staff within the airline and hospitality industries have been furloughed, many for an indefinite period of time. A new talent pool has opened up. There is an opportunity for social care providers to try and attract the current surplus of workers towards social care jobs to help fill the many permanent and temporary vacancies in their sector.

For those social care organisations who are deeply invested in this sector, there is a real opportunity to re-write what a career in social care means, bringing to life its benefits and rewards to attract individuals who otherwise wouldn’t have considered a career in the sector. The time to act is now.

By Daniela B.

This content was provided by Say Communications

Company Details

 Latest Content from  Say Communications 

Power to the People: Why consultation is key for improved patient outcomes

Meningitis Research Foundation has been working with Say Communications to help boost our public consultation on a Roadmap to Defeat Meningitis. But with over 100 experts providing detailed information on...

What can soaps do for symptoms awareness?

The BBC’s EastEnders and Channel 5’s Neighbours are featuring ovarian cancer storylines. We recently saw the death of Sonya Rebecchi, one of the lead characters in Neighbours, from the disease....

Brand new to PR? Keep calm and pitch on!

Entering the world of public relations (PR) I thought my understanding of what an average day would entail was comprehensive. My first 6 months as a PR professional has shown...

The price of healthy eating

Obesity is extremely prevalent in the UK and in the most recent reports, it has been said that two-thirds of Britons are overweight. Due to this, healthy eating and the...

Is Dr Google a 21st-century necessity?

On 27th September 2018, Google turned 20 years old. Throughout the last two decades, internet users have increasingly turned to Dr Google as a popular search engine to help self-diagnose...

Using storytelling to cut through the chatter in a crowded marketplace

11 women die every day from ovarian cancer. That is more than the number of people who die every day in road accidents. But we’ve never put out a press...

5 Ways to Communicate With Millennials About Healthcare

What does it mean to be a millennial? Opinions vary greatly and it is difficult to disagree on the exact definition. Metro explained the generation as babies born from the...

Londonvelophobia (fear of cycling in London) – debunked

Air pollution in London is a huge issue at the moment, which has many implications for our health. One way to tackle it is to get more vehicles off the...

How Helpful are Simple Health Messages?

We all know them… 5 A Day, Act F.A.S.T, Vinnie Jones performing CPR to the Bee Gees – over the years, many a health message has been compacted into an easy to...

Australian Flu and the dilemma of naming diseases

During the winter of 2017-2018 not a day passed when the Australian flu was not mentioned by the UK press. The British media turned talking about Australian flu into an...