A report from Skills For Care highlighted that there were 241,000 people in the South East, with around 260,000 jobs within the region. On an average day there are 15,000 vacancies within the adult social care sector being posted. During 2021, the staff turnover rate of staff working within the adult social care industry was 32.1% – which equated to approximately 68,000 people a year.
81% of workers within the South East’s adult social care sector identify as female. Despite this high percentage, 80% of female workers are less likely to be in managerial roles in the industry, with around 68% of females less likely to then be in senior management positions. Around 83% of female workers are in direct care providing roles, as opposed to management or senior roles.
The age distribution of adult social care workers that work in places like Portsmouth, Brighton and Milton Keynes, on average, are older than the remaining population. 26% of workers in the industry are 55+, and around 62,000 jobs are filled by this age range. Therefore, within the next 10 years it is possible that these will become open vacancies due to retirement.
In the South East, registered adult social care workers received an annual pay of between £33,300 to £35,000: which was a 33% increase from 2011/2012. The difference in pay between social care workers and other occupations has been decreasing over recent years.
The South East region has over 69% of care-providing staff either holding, or engaged with, the Care Certificate – especially domiciliary care workers, with 71% having this specific qualification. Just under half of adult care workers have a relevant adult social care qualification at Level 2 or above. For those who don’t hold a qualification, 42% had up to five years’ experience in the industry, and 76% had training that related to their role.
