John Handley, Chief People Officer at residential care provider HC-One, explores the vital role of apprenticeships in addressing social care workforce challenges.
HC-One supports more people in elderly care settings in Britain than any other provider, with the largest health and care workforce outside of the NHS, we pride ourselves on our caring with kindness approach.
We make wide-ranging investments in our colleagues including offering competitive pay and reward schemes and learning and development (L&D) opportunities and we see first-hand the positive impact this has on our residents and our colleagues.
The social care sector continues to face significant recruitment and retention challenges, with over 150,000 vacancies in England, according to Skills for Care. Their figures indicate the number of positions will need to increase by an estimated 445,000 to around 2.23 million by 2035 [1].
With an ageing population, an increasing demand for care and the need to boost the size and skills of the workforce, we have chosen to highlight our career pathways and learning opportunities.
A core element of HC-One’s L&D [2] offering is our apprenticeship programme. We’re proud to have been named as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer for two consecutive years and to offer apprenticeships to both new and existing colleagues.
Apprenticeships play a pivotal role in career progression including the transition into management roles. HC-One currently offers over 20 options (including Degree and Masters level programmes) and we currently have over 600 colleagues undertaking apprenticeships in England.
Apprenticeships help increase our retention rates. They support colleagues to grow in their careers at HC-One as well as positively impacting the quality of care our residents receive, as they are cared for by people they know and trust.
The feedback from our apprentices is testament to the benefits that apprenticeships offer with 92% stating they are more likely to achieve their career goals.
By investing in apprenticeships and offering our colleagues consistent pay and rewards, bespoke career pathways and supportive environments, we ultimately benefit from a wonderful workforce – one which will deliver a high quality of care both now and in the future.
Our apprenticeship proposition expands beyond care roles. We offer attractive apprenticeship roles at our support office where individuals can learn and earn at the same time which have helped overcome local recruitment challenges and given our support office colleagues access to role relevant apprenticeship programmes.
Nurse recruitment and retention is a longstanding issue. We are seeking to overcome this by providing non-registered care colleagues in England the opportunity to train as Registered Nursing Associates and Registered Nurses, through the apprenticeship route.
Our investments (including our apprenticeships) have helped us to boost our retention rates, and this year we have seen our turnover rate reduce to levels that are now well below the sector average.
At present, due to the eligibility criteria for government-funded apprenticeships, c.50% of our applicants for apprenticeships in England are not eligible for funding. Our internationally recruited colleagues are an integral part of our workforce and support our ability to provide continuity of care. Therefore, we advocate the same opportunities to develop their skills though the apprenticeship route.
We look forward to offering further apprenticeships, to enable more people to enjoy a fulfilling career in care.
@HC_One
hc-one.co.uk
