A compelling leadership and skills offer for adult social care in England

News release 12 July 2012

Skills for Care and the National Skills Academy for Social Care have today announced their intention to enter merger discussions. The two organisations already work closely together to support employers achieve a confident, capable and skilled workforce. With a shared remit for supporting adult social employers for developing the skills of their employees, including the vital components of leadership and management, combining the strengths of both organisations is indicative of both Boards' determination to demonstrate leadership across the sector.

Commenting on the announcement, Chair of Skills for Care, Professor David Croisdale-Appleby said "Employers give us a consistent message that they require practical, accessible and cost effective products and services to remedy the skills deficits and realise opportunities across the whole of the social care workforce. Skills development is about enhancing the quality of care and support as well as raising the profile and ambition of the adult social care workforce. It is our shared belief that such ambitions can best be achieved through the integrated working that merging our two organisations can bring."

Jo Cleary, Chair of the National Skills Academy for Social Care said: "This is our opportunity to demonstrate leadership to the sector at a time when the return on investment in workforce development must be improved. We believe we can do this by having one membership offer to all employers, whatever their size and to service users and carers as micro employers. Although we are already undertaking some excellent collaborative work, we both recognise that we can work in an even more integrated way and maximise the impact of our combined resources and expertise."

Speaking the day after the launch of the Adult Social Care White Paper, Minister for Care Services Paul Burstow added: "I welcome the proposed merger of Skills for Care and the National Skills Academy for Social Care as a positive step in bringing together the skills agenda for adult social care. It is good to see the two organisations coming together with the common aim of improving social care. The Department is looking forward to working closely with them on the shared agenda of building a workforce that is capable, confident and well-led, a workforce that will deliver the high quality care and support that people in our communities deserve."

Media enquiries:

Paul Clarke: 0113 2411297/07977519287 paul.clarke@skillsforcare.org.uk

For the Skills Academy: Debbie Sorkin: 0207 268 3287/0781 3744502 debbie.sorkin@nsasocialcare.co.uk

Notes to editors:

1. The aim of the National Skills Academy for Social Care is to transform the quality of social care that service users experience through improving the quality of leadership and commissioning in the sector. The Academy, which is chaired by Jo Cleary, Executive Director of Adults' and Community Services at the London Borough of Lambeth, fulfils its remit through developing leadership and commissioning programmes; endorsing and badging excellent training provision; and promoting and sharing good practice through its membership scheme, which reaches care homes, home care services and care staff across the country. It has a particular focus on improving support for Registered Managers.

2. Skills for Care is the employment-led strategic body for workforce development in adult social care in England, which is licensed jointly with its UK allies by UKCES to be the 'Skills for Care and Development' Sector Skills Council (SSC). Both organisations are chaired by Professor David Croisdale-Appleby. The other members of the SSC are, the Scottish Social Services Council, the Care Council for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.

3. Skills for Care forms a strategic overview of workforce needs in adult social care, which accounts for nearly 1.56 million workers, spread over 48,300 establishments employing care staff. Skills for Care members are drawn from groups representing public, private and voluntary sector care employers, along with representatives of staff, trainers, service users and informal carers. Social care includes residential care, domiciliary care and social work with all its specialisms.

4. Skills for Care and its SSC allies promote and develop the social care sector's National Occupational Standards which are statements of competence that describe 'best practice'.

5. Skills for Care area networks are major brokers of funding for social care workforce development.