Carers on course for £50k

A TRAINING scheme is launched tomorrow to help carers progress into £50,000-plus a year management roles and address the sector’s staffing crisis.

The perception that care work is fulfilling but not a viable long-term career, due to its low pay and lack of status, is seen as one of the main reasons for 42,000 carers leaving the industry in the final six months of last year.

The need for more post-covid workers in sectors such as hospitality, which pays similar starting salaries, has added to the difficulty in retaining carers.

Successful applicants for the Extra

Care Academy – set up by Housing 21, a not-for-profit provider of retirement living for older people with modest means – will get two years’ on-the-job training while earning a full salary.

Classroom training will take place at 20 centres of excellence across Britain, supplemented by online tuition.

The training and leadership skills provided will be tailored to the career paths the applicants aspire to, be it care manager, housing manager, scheme manager or regional manager.

If trainees pass, they gain a nationally recognised level three health and social care qualification that can be used in other healthcare areas.

Full-time carers start on £19,000 to £20,000 at Housing 21 – which employs more than 3,500 staff and provides more than 20,000 properties – progressing to £30,000-plus for housing managers and £50,000-plus for regional managers.

Kris Peach, Housing 21’s executive director, said: “I really hope other providers will take this on, or do something similar, as people can have fantastic careers in social care.

“Some of our best managers have come in as care workers and then stepped into senior management roles.”

Mr Peach expects the first cohort of 10 to 15 applicants to go into the academy shortly, with a large number of staff having already expressed an interest.