Call to run a project which identifies barriers faced by older people to continuing in employment, and provide support to both individuals and businesses to address these barriers and increase economic productivity of businesses employing 50+ population in Coast to Capital.
The next phase of DHSC’s campaign ‘When you care, every day makes a difference’ aims to help fill the 122,000 vacancies in adult social care.
The campaign was first launched in February to attract new people with the right values to the sector and increase interest in adult social care as a vocation.
It will continue to target 20 to 39 year olds, raising awareness of the benefits of a career in adult social care.
The department’s recent survey of 2,020 adults showed that people in England aged 18 to 34 are the most likely to consider applying for a job in adult social care.
The survey showed that:
Nearly 1.5 million people work in the adult social care sector, but an ageing population means that 580,000 more workers will be needed by 2035.
The average age of those working in the sector is 45 years old, and around 385,000 jobs are held by people aged 55 years old who are likely to retire in the next 10 years.
Roles in adult social care include working with adults of all ages in different locations and with different needs, for example:
Minister for Care Caroline Dinenage said:
“A career in adult social care offers the rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society – a sentiment 96% of current care workers on the ground agree with.
“We have over a million brilliant people working in the sector, but we urgently need new talent to ensure we can continue to provide support for those who need it.
“I hope our ‘When you care, every day makes a difference’ campaign will draw more people with the right values to forge fulfilling careers and help them realise how diverse, worthwhile and often flexible jobs in social care can be. I urge anyone considering a career in care to apply today.”
Julie Ogley, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), said:
“People of any age can work in social care and make a real difference to the lives of so many who need it.
“There’s a wealth of highly rewarding career opportunities for everyone, from providing vital care and support as a care worker or personal assistant, to roles in the local community and beyond with the opportunity to go further.
“There are careers to be had in social care – our own members, all of whom are directors, and their direct line reports, are a prime example of this.
“We want to see a social care workforce that is diverse and well representative of our society and we hope that this campaign will help us to achieve that.”
In his first week in office, Prime Minister Boris Johnson established an Office for Veterans’ Affairs at the heart of government and jointly run by Cabinet Office Ministers Oliver Dowden and Johnny Mercer. The creation was part of a government commitment to ensure world-class provision of life-long veterans’ care services in this country.
Following consultation with veterans, charities and civil society groups government can today announce the full scope of the Office, and the programme of work for the months ahead.
Retired Colonel David Richmond CBE, a former Commanding Officer of 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and subsequently became the Recovery Director at Help for Heroes, has been appointed to head up the OVA.
The OVA has been tasked with:
The OVA will lead in ensuring the whole of government is delivering better outcomes for veterans, particularly in areas such as mental health, employment and housing. It will work in partnership with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations to coordinate activity across the United Kingdom.
Cabinet Minister, Oliver Dowden, represents the Office for Veterans Affairs in Cabinet. He said:
I want the UK to be the best place in the world to be a veteran.
Through the new Office for Veterans’ Affairs we can make sure that government delivers on its promises to those who have served and make it easier for veterans and their families to get the support they need. The office will also celebrate the brilliant contribution veterans make in many other walks of life after they leave service.
David Richmond CBE said:
I’m honoured to take on this role. As a veteran, I understand the struggles that some face and leading the OVA will provide a unique opportunity to serve our veteran community as they transition to civilian life and to ensure that the experience and the support they receive is world-leading.
I also know that our former military personnel are hugely talented, committed and have a range of skills, experiences and qualifications that we must ensure continues to benefit UK society. I want the OVA to champion veterans and ensure that their skills and talents are recognised fully by employers, business and wider society.
Minister for Defence People and Veterans Johnny Mercer said:
As we reset this country’s relationship with her veterans, we’re making progress with establishing the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
David’s knowledge and experience of both military life and our veterans community will mean that the OVA will make a huge difference to our former service personnel.
From today (16 October), the Government’s Get Help to Retrain service will be offered to adults across the Leeds City Region, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and the Heart of the South West to empower even more people to retrain and get on the path to a new job.
The pioneering online service is the first of a series of products that will make up the Government’s National Retraining Scheme, which is being developed to support eligible adults – particularly those whose jobs could change because of new technologies such as AI and automation – to kick start a new career.
The service helps adults to identify their existing skills, explore different types of job opportunities and find training courses to gain the skills they need to progress in the workplace. The National Careers Service is also providing dedicated support from qualified careers advisers to guide people through the process and provide expert advice.
Get Help to Retrain is now available in six major cities and regions across England after being successfully trialled in the West Midlands, North East and the Liverpool City Region. Eligible adults – those aged 24 and over, qualified below degree level and who are working below a certain wage threshold – living in one of the six regions can now try the service out for themselves and help to test and improve it further by visiting here.
Education Minister, Michelle Donelan, said:
“The world of work is changing fast, which is why we are developing the National Retraining Scheme to help prepare adults whose jobs may change as a result of new technologies to thrive in the roles of the future.
“The Get Help to Retrain digital service is just the first step. We are rolling the service out gradually, testing and learning as we go. The good news is that eligible adults in all six areas can now try out the new service and help us make sure we get it right for those who need it.”
Following extensive user testing, adults accessing the service will benefit from new and improved features such as a more advanced skills matching tool to help them identify potential new job roles, and the ability to save their progress and return to their results.
Get Help to Retrain is being rolled out in stages so that it can be fully tested and developed further, before being made available nationwide in 2020. A series of additional products that will make up the full service are being developed and tested in parallel, before being released at different times.
The National Retraining Scheme – backed by £100 million of Government investment – is led and overseen by the National Retraining Partnership – a unique partnership between Government, the CBI and the TUC – to ensure the collective voices of businesses and employees are heard.
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, said:
“All workers should have the chance to retrain and improve their skills. And this will be key as the labour market undergoes the transformation of new technology and automation in the coming years.
“The launch of this new phase of the National Retraining Scheme and its collaborative approach is good news. It will help to open up retraining to many more working people – preparing them for the jobs of the future.
“Union learning reps will play a crucial role in supporting workers to access advice and retraining opportunities available through the scheme.
“The challenge for the National Retraining Partnership is to develop a national programme that invests in the potential of all workers, delivering the skills we need for the growth sectors of the future.”
Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said:
“Seeing the Get Help to Retrain digital service rolled out to more locations across the country is promising news. Ensuring people’s skills are fit for the future is an essential part of improving productivity growth, wages and living standards up and down the country.
“As the world of work changes rapidly, the best way to help people access the high-quality training they need to succeed is by Government and employers working together. And once the National Retraining Scheme is well underway, it should kick start wider cross-government efforts to embrace technology in the workplace.”
The Government has also announced that, from today, technology companies and innovators can bid for a share of the CareerTech Challenge Fund – which is backed by £5.75 million of funding from the Government and innovation foundation Nesta – to develop cutting-edge solutions to improve the quality and efficiency of online training and guidance for adults looking for a change in career.
The CareerTech Challenge Fund, previously known as the Adult Learning Technology Innovation Fund (ALTIF), will create innovative and engaging online solutions that help adults to upskill and move into exciting new roles.
Minister Donelan added:
“The CareerTech Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for innovators looking to put their ideas into action on a national scale.
“Everyone deserves access to high-quality teaching and, thanks to new technologies such as automation and Artificial Intelligence, there is potential to drastically improve the quality of online learning for adult students.
“Investing in cutting edge technologies demonstrates our ongoing commitment to adult education and we hope it will encourage more adults to retrain and upskill in future.”
The ground-breaking CareerTech Challenge Fund is being developed in partnership with Nesta. Through the fund, innovators will be supported to test and apply the latest technology to develop bespoke, flexible, inclusive, and engaging online solutions that support more people into skilled employment.
Vicki Sellick, Nesta’s Executive Director of Programmes, said:
“As the world of work transforms, it is crucial that people feel confident in understanding what jobs will be available in the future in their local area and how to learn the skills to secure them.
“Technology offers a variety of exciting ways to equip people with the knowledge and tools to plan for secure and rewarding careers and improve working lives for people across England.”
Adoptive families and children are set to benefit from a multi-million pound investment into programmes aimed at helping them overcome past trauma, the Education Secretary announced in a speech today.
Gavin Williamson announced further funding for the Adoption Support Fund ensuring every family that needs it will be able to get therapeutic support until 2021. The commitment builds on the £130m already invested through the fund, which has benefitted over 40,000 families.
The Education Secretary also announced almost £650,000 investment into Regional Adoption Agencies, who will coordinate work to find more adopters across the country, especially for harder to place children, such as siblings, older children and those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. This will include targeted digital work and work with black churches and mosques to increase the numbers of people from BAME communities coming forward to adopt.
The Adoption Support Fund has provided things like cognitive therapy, play and music therapy, and family support sessions. This much needed support can help children come to terms with their difficulties – giving them the confidence to build strong relationships with their new family.
Speaking at Coram for National Adoption Week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
“This government will do everything we can to help support young people into an adoptive home and we’re tapping into the expertise of the wonderful people that work in this sector. In recent years, the trend that concerns us all is the disparity between numbers of children awaiting adoption and adoptive families ready to take them. This is a trend that must change and I want to do everything I can to help you do that.
“We have cut the average time between a child entering care and being placed with a family by seven months since 2012. It’s now down to 14 months. Obviously there is still substantial room for improvement. It still takes too long and not all adoptive families receive the support they need. But we’re definitely going in the right direction.
“Our adoption support fund which was set up in 2015, has provided a range of therapeutic support for nearly 50,000 children who have been through traumatic times before adoption. I am delighted to announce that we are going to extend this fund through to 2021, so families can now continue to access therapy support.”
Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said:
“We welcome the government’s renewed commitment to adoption recruitment and support, particularly at a time when more adopters are urgently needed for the children waiting.
“At Coram we have long recognised the transformative effect that early therapeutic support can have on adopted children and their families. For children who have experienced a difficult start in life, it is vital that the right help can be accessed quickly and easily.
“The availability of consistent and timely post-adoption support is crucial in encouraging prospective adopters to come forward, and we hope the funding boost announced today will enable the recruitment of a wide range of adopters, and help all adoptive families to thrive.”
This funding boost will enable experts to focus on finding adopters from a range of communities and backgrounds for children, ensuring no child is left behind and every child is given a safe, loving permanent home as quickly as possible.
The drive towards improving the adoption process for families continues alongside the Department’s investment in programmes that help keep children with their birth families, when safe to do so. Across the country, local authorities are taking part in programmes that focus on tackling the issues that cause families to fall apart and children to enter care in the first place, including parents’ drug addiction, domestic abuse or mental health problems.
The investment comes as the latest data shows there were 2,700 children waiting for adoption, with almost 40 per cent who have waited over 18 months. Of these, 24% were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, so the recruitment drive will have a particular focus on finding families for these children, as well as other harder to place groups, including siblings and older children.
It was also announced that four new London regional adoption agencies (RAAs) are now live, which are speeding up the time it takes to match children and families. RAAs are live in 70% of the country, with remaining local authorities expected to have joined by 2020.