Homecare Association welcomes new focus on care workforce and opportunities for young people

The Homecare Association welcomes plans announced today by Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper to strengthen the care workforce, including thousands more care academy places to help young jobseekers into good jobs in care, and the first national collective pension scheme for care workers. The Secretary of State also reaffirmed the Government’s commitments to a social care workforce plan with proper career pathways and to a legally binding Fair Pay Agreement.

Care sector academies bring together care providers, local authorities, the NHS, colleges and training organisations to attract people into care, provide pre-employment training and help existing staff develop their skills. Academies in places such as Leeds, Stockport, and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have already shown what this model can achieve.

The Homecare Association is also calling for the work experience partnerships the Government has developed with major employers in sectors such as retail to be extended to social care.

Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said:

“We strongly welcome this focus on the care workforce and, in particular, the ambition to open more opportunities for young people. It is also good to hear the Secretary of State reaffirm the commitment to a proper workforce plan. Building on the Care Workforce Pathway, clear career routes, training and specialist skills will help people see care as a profession in which they can grow.

“Social care has enormous potential as a place for young people to start and build a career. It offers meaningful work, human connection and the chance to develop skills that are valuable throughout life. Young people also bring energy, ideas, digital confidence and different perspectives which can enrich care teams and the lives of the people they support.

“Most young people want to work, but too often they encounter the familiar problem that they cannot get a job without experience and cannot gain experience without somebody giving them an opportunity. Care providers can help break that cycle. Work experience suits our sector particularly well, because the qualities that matter most in care, such as kindness, patience and reliability, are far easier to see in practice than in a CV or a short interview.

“We therefore welcome the expansion of care sector academies, and we would like to see work experience partnerships, like those the Government has developed with retailers, extended to social care employers. Local academies have already achieved strong results. In Leeds, around 80 per cent of candidates on the We Care Academy programme have moved into care jobs, and more than 2,000 people signed up to the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Social Care Academy in its first year. Done well and at scale, these initiatives could create clearer routes from education and unemployment into care, while giving people a much better understanding of the breadth of careers available across our sector.

“Homecare involves supporting people in their own homes, so placements will need careful design, with shadowing, mentoring and proper supervision. It is vital that these opportunities engage small and medium-sized care employers, who make up over 84 per cent of the care market, as well as large organisations. As an Association, we would be pleased to work with government and our members on designing these opportunities, so they work for young people, employers and people drawing on care and support.

“We also welcome the Secretary of State’s renewed commitment to the Fair Pay Agreement. Care workers have been undervalued for too long, and their pay and conditions should reflect the skill and responsibility their work demands. For the agreement to succeed, it must be fully funded, with fee rates from councils and the NHS rising to match. Otherwise, providers will be caught between higher legal minimums and fees that do not cover them.

“We welcome the commitment to a national collective pension scheme for care workers. Improving the long-term employment offer for care workers is important, and care workers deserve security in retirement. The detail will be critical, however, including how any scheme would be funded and administered, and how it would work for a sector made up of thousands of employers of very different sizes. We look forward to engaging constructively as the proposals develop.

“There is also an important practical barrier we would urge government to consider as part of its youth employment plans: driving. For many homecare roles, particularly outside major cities, being able to drive is essential. The cost of learning to drive, finding affordable insurance and difficulties accessing driving tests can prevent young people who would otherwise make excellent care workers from taking up jobs.

“We have therefore suggested exploring whether support with driving lessons and priority access to driving tests could form part of the employment offer for young people entering homecare. This could remove a very practical barrier to employment while helping homecare providers recruit in communities where workforce shortages remain acute.

“Social care is a sector in which people can build rewarding careers. However, better training and new routes into care will only go so far while the way homecare is commissioned works against good employment. Too many councils and NHS bodies still buy homecare by the minute, paying for contact time only, often at fees below the cost of delivery and with too little predictable work in each area. This leaves care workers with fragmented rotas and insecure hours and makes it harder for providers to invest in training and progression.

“Our recent paper, Homecare: commissioning is the key to quality, fair work and better outcomes, sets out how these system design problems can be fixed. We urge government to act on this alongside today’s announcements, so that the workforce plan, Fair Pay Agreement and pension scheme can deliver their full benefit. We welcome the Government’s willingness to work with the sector and look forward to helping turn these ambitions into opportunities for young people across the country.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The Homecare Association is the UK’s leading membership body for homecare providers. It represents the homecare sector at national level, including with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Parliament.

Introduction of a Care Career Workforce Pathway was first announced by the government in 2024. Further details are available on Skills for Care's website.

The government announced the introduction of a Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care as one of a raft of measures in the Employment Rights Act. The government responded to its consultation on a Fair Pay Agreement in July 2026.

Care academy figures are drawn from the Local Government Association’s Care and Health Career Academy toolkit, Leeds City Council, Stockport and Stoke-on-Trent City Council case studies..

The government’s Opening Shift programme enables work experience in the retail sector.  

Homecare Association (September 2026). Homecare: commissioning is the key to quality, fair work and better outcomes

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