Joe Desmond, Director, Recruit2Care
Joe Desmond, Director at Recruit2Care, explores the growing reliance on migrant workers in social care as domestic recruitment falters, highlighting issues like low pay and poor conditions threatening the sector’s future.
The social care sector is facing a turning point. While external recruitment has helped stabilise the workforce, the deeper issues of hiring and keeping domestic workers remain urgent. As a recruitment provider, we see that the sector must undergo significant changes—not just to survive, but to thrive. Without serious action, the workforce faces a crisis that could threaten care services for the UK’s aging population.
A Workforce in Flux
The latest State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in Englandi report shows both growth and challenges. The workforce grew, and vacancies dropped. However, turnover rates are still high, with a large percentage of care workers leaving their jobs. This raises important questions: Why are so many workers leaving a sector so vital to society?
Bringing in workers from outside the UK has been a temporary fix, but it highlights the deeper issue of domestic shortages. In the last two years, many international workers have filled roles, while tens of thousands of British workers have left. Is the UK allowing these vital, highly skilled jobs to become positions that British workers are unwilling to take?
The Growing Reliance on Migrant Workers
This growing reliance on international workers raises a tough question: Is social care becoming like agriculture, where low-paid roles are increasingly filled by migrant workers because domestic candidates aren’t willing to accept the conditions? It’s essential to draw a clear distinction here—care work is a highly skilled profession, requiring compassion, dedication, and expertise. It’s not a field where workers should be compared to those in sectors like agriculture. International recruitment has been necessary, but it has also allowed employers and the government to avoid tackling the root issues—low wages, lack of career development, and stressful working conditions.
Pay Isn’t the Only Problem
Wages are often seen as the main issue, and with workers earning just above minimum wage, it’s a valid concern. However, simply raising pay won’t fix the deeper problems. The work itself is demanding and requires a high level of skill, training, and a commitment to values like compassion and respect. Yet, society often views it as low-skill and low-status. Until this perception shifts and care work is recognised as a value-led profession that requires expertise, the crisis will persist.
A more difficult question is whether the government is ready to invest in a sector that has long been underfunded. Raising wages and improving conditions requires public funding, which raises another tough question: Are we ready to pay higher taxes to properly fund social care, similar to how we fund other essential and skilled services?
Diversity and Workforce Challenges
There is also a gap in diversity among domestic recruits. A higher percentage of international workers are male compared to British recruits. Why are more British men not entering the care workforce? Is it still seen as “women’s work” despite the growing need for male workers?
As recruitment providers, we need to challenge these stereotypes and promote care work as a fulfilling career for everyone. But we also need to consider why other sectors seem more attractive to potential workers. This suggests a broader issue: the undervaluing of care as a professional career of choice and the failure to make it competitive.
Time for Bold Change?
The sector will need hundreds of thousands of additional workers by 2040. But if the current trends continue, how will this demand be met? The government’s recent strategy for addressing workforce issues is a positive step, but small adjustments won’t solve a problem this big. Without major changes in funding and perception, the sector is heading toward serious trouble.
Care workers are highly skilled professionals who deserve fair pay, career growth, and recognition. If we fail to act, care jobs risk becoming low-wage, revolving-door positions filled by underpaid workers. But with bold steps, we can transform social care into a respected profession that attracts and retains talented individuals, ultimately benefiting the millions who rely on these vital services daily.
recruit2care.co.uk