Skills for Care report reveals how international recruitment is growing social care workforce
International recruitment drove improvements in the adult social care workforce in the year to March 2024 – but the sector faces ongoing domestic recruitment and retention challenges, according to new data from the adult social care workforce development body Skills for Care.
The latest State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report shows that the workforce grew (to 1.71 million filled posts) and vacancies fell (to 131,000 on any given day) for the second successive year.
According to the report, 24.2 per cent of people working in care left their jobs in 2023/24. Among independent and local authority employers – for whom records go back the furthest – the turnover rate fell to below one in four (24.8%) for the first time since 2014/15, down from 29.1 per cent the previous year.
The number of men working in the female-dominated sector reached a record high, with men accounting for 21 per cent of the workforce. It is the first time that men have represented more than a fifth of the workforce since records began – the proportion had been static at 18 per cent from 2012/13 until 2022/23, when it rose for the first time, to 19 per cent.
However, as the report reveals, these positive statistics are mainly due to the record level of international recruitment in 2023/24 and the sector is still struggling with domestic recruitment and retention.
The year saw 105,000 international recruits starting direct care providing roles in the independent sector and the number of people in the workforce with a British nationality shrinking by 30,000. Over the two years since March 2022, 185,000 international recruits joined and the number of British workers fell by 70,000.
It is clear from the data, the report reveals, that this is not a case of international recruits taking jobs from British people, as the number of vacancies across the sector remains high.
While the turnover rate for internationally-recruited staff in the frontline ‘Care Worker’ role was 30 per cent, the turnover rate for domestic recruits into Care Worker roles was 41.1 per cent.
29 per cent of international recruits were male, but men only accounted for 15 per cent of newly-recruited British care workers.
These differences are significant because the supply of international workers is declining. According to Skills for Care’s latest tracking data, an estimated 8,000 new international recruits started between April and June 2024, compared with an average of 26,000 per quarter in the year to March – a decrease of over two thirds.
Even with the record level of international recruitment in 2023/24, the sector’s vacancy rate of 8.3 per cent was still around three times that of the wider economy. Skills for Care estimates that, in addition to filling vacancies, the sector will need another 540,000 posts by 2040 if the workforce is to grow in proportion to the number of people aged over 65 in the population.
Skills for Care has led the development of a new Workforce Strategy for adult social care, which was published in July 2024. The Strategy – which has the backing of a wide range of organisations from across social care, health and education – aims to improve the quality of social care roles, ensuring that the sector can attract and keep enough people with the right skills and values to provide the best possible care and support for the people who draw on it.
Skills for Care CEO, Professor Oonagh Smyth, said: “It’s clear from our data that international recruitment has been vital in helping the social care workforce grow, but we can’t count on this continuing as we’re starting to see less of it – and the global job market is a competitive one.
“So we need to stem the tide of British care workers who are leaving their jobs and we can only do that by improving the quality of care roles so the sector can be more competitive in local job markets.
“The launch of the Workforce Strategy for adult social care in July was a big step forward. We know what needs to be done, so now all of us with the power to implement the Strategy’s recommendations just need to make it happen.
“This includes investing properly in the workforce as part of the journey towards a National Care Service. Improving pay is an important step, but focusing on things like training and the infrastructure to enable proper workforce planning are vital too. Other sectors can respond to improved care worker pay by increasing their own – but it’ll be harder for them to compete with better-paid care roles that are also rewarding, meaningful and come with great opportunities to learn and grow.”
Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at Leonard Cheshire, commented: “Reform of social care, including charging and funding is long overdue. The upcoming Fair Pay Agreement for care workers is a positive step forward but must be backed by ring-fenced funding.
“With 131,000 vacancies still in the sector, we’d urge interim funding towards much needed pay rises for care workers as part of the Chancellor’s October Budget. Economic arguments are not the reason to reform social care but there is a growing mountain of evidence showing investment in social care pays for itself.
“Skills for Care highlight an estimated £68 billion value added by the sector to the economy in England. For disabled adults who struggle in the jobs market, availability of social care can make the difference between being able to work or not.”
Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, says: “It is encouraging to see that vacancy and turnover rates in adult social care have decreased, with the lowest turnover rates since 2014/15. However, the report shows this is primarily due to international recruitment, which is declining and is likely to continue to do so with changes to immigration legislation, such as restrictions on care workers bringing family with them to the UK.”
She added: “We need to attract more people into the sector, but equally, if not more importantly, we must retain the skilled workforce we already have. The factors the report highlights as influencing retention—such as better pay, comprehensive training, secure hours, and above-statutory sick pay—are well-known.
“It is no surprise that organisations with lower turnover rates achieve this by investing in their staff, celebrating achievements, fostering shared values, and empowering employees with autonomy in their roles.”
Anna Hemmings, CEO of ADASS, commented: “While we’ve relied heavily on overseas staff to prop up our care system in recent years, the number of new international recruits is now dwindling, making it more urgent than ever that the Government makes the improvements to pay and conditions needed to encourage domestic workers into a career in care.
“To start properly valuing our workforce, ADASS is calling on the Government to nationally fund paying care workers, the majority of whom are women, above National Living Wage.”
She added: “The report also shows care workers undertaking training and qualifications are more likely to stay in the job, reducing turnover and associated recruitment costs, as well as improving quality and standards across social care.
“Following the decision to scrap £50 million planned funding to train thousands of care workers, we are calling on the Government to commit to a long term, funded care workforce strategy to ensure we have a care workforce to meet our increasing need for care and support.”
