Younger workers: what do social care providers think?

Employers please read this ---- the content is challenging but will tell you quite a lot of what you need to know about how best (and how not) to work with young people

Changemakers or troublemakers: What do social care providers think of younger workers?

Our latest research explores the relationship between providers and young workers, who are under-represented in social care. Find out about recruitment, retention and the attitudes of providers towards their young colleagues.

Key points

• Younger workers are under-represented in social care: only 8% of the workforce is under 25.

• The King’s Fund spoke to people from 11 social care providers about their organisations’ experience of recruiting and retaining younger care workers, and about how the wider social care sector responds to younger workers. The providers we interviewed:

  • told us younger staff had a great dealt to offer social care, for example, their familiarity with technology

  • said employing younger people has drawbacks and that many social care organisations were reluctant to employ them

  • do not tailor their recruitment processes specifically to younger people but that some support for new starters might disproportionately benefit younger workers

  • told us the main reason for younger workers leaving the sector was the inherent challenges of social care jobs, for which younger people were not necessarily prepared

  • felt that there were some things that individual social care organisations could do to better support younger workers, but that other actions needed providers to work together locally or nationally, including work to change the image of the sector.

• The King’s Fund’s recommendations include:

  • addressing stereotypical attitudes in the sector towards younger people

  • creating more cohesive sector representation locally and regionally, ensuring younger workers are part of providers’ wider recruitment strategies

  • promoting work within the sector realistically

  • ensuring the sector has the resources it needs to tackle workforce issues strategically.

• The King’s Fund is currently carrying out interviews with younger people in the social care workforce and will publish this research in summer 2024.