Our population is ageing and with it comes the need for a significantly higher number of employees in the adult social care sector. By 2041, the number of people in England aged 85 is expected to increase by 2.5 times the 2010 figure to 3.2 million, representing 5% of the total population. In addition, the number of adults with learning disabilities is expected to rise by between 47,000 and 113,000 in just 10 years.

These apprenticeships are for people employed in delivering adult social care in England.

This framework covers the health and social care sectors, which include:

• The National Health Service
• Private care providers
• Local authorities
• Voluntary organisations

These apprenticeships provides a suitable way to meet the development and qualification needs of a variety of roles and job titles, including:

• Care workers
• Community support and outreach workers
• Personal assistance staff
• Domiciliary care workers
• Supervisors
• Senior care workers

As well as being suitable for existing staff, this apprenticeship gives apprentices extensive opportunities to gain employment in the social care sector as well as in some health care roles. There were 1.75 million paid jobs in adult social care in England in 2009. Of these, 1.61 million are directly employed at a place of work and 140,000 are employed by agency, bank and pool workers, volunteers, students and others, including self-employed.

The majority of these roles are at operational level, for which this Intermediate and Advanced level apprenticeship framework is suitable, working with adult service groups: older people, people with learning disabilities, sensory and physical impairment service users and those that require extra care support. People who use services are supported in a variety of settings, including their own homes, supported accommodation, day care provision and residential accommodation.

The sector is steadily expected to grow in numbers of employees, needing a minimum of two million workers by 2025, giving potential apprentices great potential for a career in a growing sector. Apprenticeships are one of the many ways in which employers within the health sector are seeking to address some of these increasing pressures. A qualified and competent support workforce is vital to the patient experience and to the smooth running of services. Clinical healthcare support workers tend to have delegated responsibility for a range of tasks which enables the professionally qualified staff (e.g. nurses, doctors, allied health professionals) to fulfil their own roles more effectively.

Contact our team  for a copy of our detailed, unit by unit, Health and Social Care prospectus.