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How to get started using ASC-WDS and make the most of your account

13 Oct 2025

3 min read

Skills for Care

ASC-WDS

Find out more about how to get started using the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) and what benefits the service brings for social care employers.

The Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) (ASC-WDS) is a free online data collection service which social care employers can use to safely store their staff data, including training records.

Whether you’re already one of the 21,000+ care organisations using ASC-WDS or you’re yet to sign-up, we can help you make sure you get the most out of your account.

If you’ve not already signed up for an ASC-WDS account, visit our ASC-WDS webpage and sign-up online for free. We have a friendly support team available to help if you have any questions.

To get started you’ll just need to add your name and job title, set up a password and security question, and answer a couple of quick questions about your service. Once this is done, our team can approve your account and you can start making the most of what the service has to offer.

By filling out the ‘Workplace information’ section you can store data such as starters, vacancy and turnover rates which will allow you to monitor staffing information in your own organisation as well as being able to share your workforce data with Local Authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ready for inspection. You can also use the benchmarking feature to see how you compare to similar providers in your locality around pay and retention.

ASC-WDS also lets you add and manage staff training records. By doing this you can be reminded when training is due for renewal by defining mandatory training for each job role in your organisation and setting alerts for when training is missing or expired. Having your training records in ASC-WDS makes it easy to evidence training during inspections.

Having an ASC-WDS account provides access to the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS), which provides funding for staff training and development. The ASC-WDS Benefits Bundle also offers lots more special offers and resources.

In addition to ASC-WDS providing a useful way for employers to store staff records, the service also allows you to have an impact on sector policy and decision-making through data.

Skills for Care uses the data that employers share in ASC-WDS to create workforce intelligence and reports about the social care sector, which provide key insights to the Government and other policymakers about social care.

This data is used in reports, consultations, and House of Commons discussions about care, and helps to create a picture of the current landscape and advise on decisions around what is needed to best support the sector.

And don’t worry, while this data is used to help advise on these important matters for the sector all data remains secure, private and anonymous.

You can find out more about how to use all the features of ASC-WDS and the benefits available on the videos on our dedicated ASC-WDS webpage.