Industry insights - Social care
The social care sector covers all occupations that aim to help people overcome difficulties related to physical, mental, environmental or lifestyle problems at any stage in their lives. It includes staff in both professional and non-professional roles who support vulnerable people living in the community and in residential care.
Social care is separated into child social care and adult social care services. Adult social care is the fastest growing part of the sector and it is likely to continue to be with the ageing population.
The range of work settings includes the community, hospitals, health centres, education and advice centres, and people's homes.
The social care sector has suffered from a negative image, with high vacancy and staff turnover rates in some areas and high profile child abuse cases bringing it under public scrutiny. Those working in social care do often face pressurised roles and heavy caseloads but managers are aiming to address employees' support and training needs to improve conditions. The work, although stressful, can be highly rewarding, and personal satisfaction can be gained from developing and maintaining relationships with those you are trying to help.
There are more women than men working in the sector and it employs around one in ten of all female workers in the UK (Skills for Care and Development, 2011). The ethnic make up of the workforce does not reflect the diverse community it serves.
Salaries depend on the professional and geographical area you work in. As a guide, the British Association of Social Workers states that a newly qualified social worker could start at around £18,000 and work up to around £30,000 with increased experience and responsibility.
The social care and development sector serves around 2.3 million adults. It employs just over 1.8 million people in the UK, which is around 6% of the total UK workforce. Just under a third work in the public sector while almost half are employed by private or commercial organisations.
There are a growing number of workers being employed on small projects with short-term funding. These projects are often community based and focused on certain issues such as drug rehabilitation or preventing youth offending.
There are opportunities to work all over the UK, with particularly high vacancy rates in large cities such as London and Birmingham.
In Scotland, around 198,000 are employed in the sector, in Wales there are approximately 76,000 who work predominately with the elderly and in Northern Ireland there are around 30,000. Many of these roles are within public sector organisations.
The following profiles are examples of key jobs that exist in the social care sector. To find the job roles that best match your skills and interests, login to what jobs would suit me?
For even more career ideas, take a look at types of jobs.
Vacancies can be found online at a variety of places, including the following:
Vacancies occur all year round. Staff turnover can be high, creating both advertised and unadvertised positions. It may therefore be useful to send in your CV speculatively. Volunteering, short-term project work and temporary contracts may lead to a permanent career role. Also try careers fairs at your university to find out about opportunities.
Further guidance on getting into social care can be found at:
Find out more about job application advice.
To be successful in this type of work you will need to demonstrate:
For roles requiring qualifications and experience, employers may prefer someone who is interested in theory and best practice and has a good standard of literacy.
Professional posts require specific academic and/or professional qualifications. Social workers can qualify via either an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate qualification. Courses are available full time, part time, by distance learning and through the Open University (OU) . Part-time study may be combined with paid work. Employers may sponsor staff working in care support roles to undertake approved training courses whilst employing them as trainees.
For many non-professional jobs, you may not need a particular academic or vocational qualification, but you might be expected to gain an NVQ or other vocational qualification while in employment.
Many roles require enthusiasm more than direct qualifications and employers are often prepared to train on-the-job. Voluntary work can help you where experience is required but there is often great competition for opportunities. Ensure your CV is tailored to suit the role and that you are able to demonstrate comprehensive understanding of relevant policies and reviews vital to the work involved.
Ways to get work experience include:
A Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check will need to be carried out for any work experience you wish to do with children or vulnerable adults.
Postgraduate study will be required for most roles involving research, policy-making or lecturing, and for many senior or management posts. It is also required for social workers who do not have an accredited qualification.
You may choose postgraduate study purely out of dedication and interest and it may improve your employment chances, depending on relevance. Postgraduate courses are often completed within two years.
Many employers offer sponsorship but there are other sources of funding. For social workers, NHS Student Bursaries are handled by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
This is a broad sector with many opportunities to transfer skills and experience to other roles and organisations. Keeping up to date on industry issues and policies is vital for career development, as is developing contacts and networking.
To maintain your professional status and further your skills, you will need to participate in continuous professional development (CPD). Once qualified, social workers can progress through training to:
Social workers can choose to progress in five specialist areas:
Local councils/public sector: local authorities have statutory responsibility for providing social care to the communities they serve. Social workers and social care staff have to operate within structured policy and legislative procedures. Local authorities can offer good opportunities to work with a variety of service user groups and offer career progression opportunities. Organisations in the public sector include the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, the Children's Workforce Development Council, HM Prison Service and NHS.
Voluntary or 'third' sector: care staff in this sector have clearly defined roles as advocates on behalf of specific user groups. Examples of large organisations within this sector are Age Concern, Mencap and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). There are a wide variety of voluntary organisations offering salaries, training and conditions of service comparable to those provided by local authority employers. Careers in this sector offer more opportunities to work in the advocacy and counselling aspects of social care.
SMEs are organisations with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £44million. Working for a smaller company can be rewarding because you are more likely to forge a path for yourself within the company, although opportunities to try other departments may be limited.
Private sector: the majority of care providers in the private sector are SMEs and they are rapidly expanding, offering residential care, housing, fostering and adoption services. Pay and conditions of service vary tremendously and it is therefore essential to research opportunities carefully. This sector can offer residential social workers the opportunity to progress to home management roles. It is also worth noting that there are many private organisations that offer more specialist services, e.g. for hard-to-place children.
Agencies: these have become more numerous in recent years. Some London boroughs and city unitary authorities rely heavily on agency staff. The working hours and types of work available through agencies are very flexible and working this way can offer the challenge of the unknown and variety in work settings. Agency work perhaps suits more experienced workers but there are increasing opportunities for the newly trained.
Independent social work and social work consultancy have grown steadily over the past decade. There are two categories: those who work directly with service users; and those who work as expert witnesses or in service development, advisory, investigatory or reviewing capacities (often known as consultants). Those choosing to be self-employed also need to possess a broad range of business skills, including:
Most people who take this option have already led successful careers. It is important to join the appropriate professional bodies to ensure insurance coverage and have access to professional support.
Find out more about self-employment.
There is demand for a wide range of care professionals in the broad field of development work in many Third World and East European countries. These opportunities are mainly provided by large organisations with charitable status. You could consider carrying out gap year or voluntary work in these countries to build up experience.
Other possibilities include:
UK social work qualifications are accepted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the European Community, usually as long as you also have three years of work experience. Careers advice qualifications are often recognised on a full or partial basis. A key requirement is knowledge of the language used in the country in which you wish to work. UK professional qualifications and experience will increase your chances of being able to practise overseas, especially in the case of aid and development work opportunities.
There are opportunities for employment as a social worker in the EU; the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) can be used as a starting point. Sweden and Denmark employ the largest number of social workers in Europe.
Opportunities also exist in the Third world and East Europe in aid and development work. These include positions working in the community, occupational therapy and personal care. Many of these posts require a professional qualification and relevant experience. To find out about opportunities in this area see organisations such as:
In these settings, you are required to live and work very much as part of the community and are often required to pass on your specialist skills by training local people.
An increasing ageing population means there will be more social care work relating to the elderly. Skills for Care and Development states that by 2066 at least half a million people will be aged 100 or over - this is a big increase from the current 10 million people in the UK who can expect to see their 100th birthday. People are also living with increasingly complex needs, such as dementia, sensory and physical impairments, which in turn require more specialised care.
The care sector will have to be prepared to face these challenges and must invest now in the skills that will be required for the future. Age UK also covers the issues facing the elderly and related care needs.
Technology is often aimed at improving the accessibility of the service and the independence of the service user. You might expect to use mobile phones, laptops or hand-held tablets while out in the field and assistive technology is used to support independent living for clients. You may be expected to use, explain or recommend such equipment, for example to monitor disabled or infirm people by means of a sensor linked remotely to a carer, to indicate if they fall out of bed, or an electronic medication reminder, etc. Funding cuts in some local authorities may restrict the amount of technology they can afford to implement.
Social care work is often affected by the economic climate as it can rely heavily on government funding. Youth workers often on short-term contracts have been the first in many areas to see their projects cut. There has also been a decline in the number of care homes and some larger care home consortiums have gone into receivership. Jobs in this area may continue to be unstable while the economy continues to recover.
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