An investigation by FE Week reveals that despite a £1,000 increase in funding for adult care apprenticeships, the number of new apprentices has declined, leading to almost 200 training providers discontinuing their delivery of adult care worker apprenticeships since 2019. The drop in apprenticeship starts has been significant, with 10,500 fewer care apprentices in 2022/23 compared to 2018/19. The investigation identified 108 providers that ceased delivering care apprenticeships, with only a few restarting them. Major training providers like Qube Learning and Quest Vocational Training have also closed down recently. Factors such as increasing demand for social care, high vacancies, staff turnover, low pay, and poor working conditions are contributing to recruitment and retention challenges in the sector. The Care Quality Commission’s annual report highlights that over half of adult social care providers face staff recruitment issues, which is affecting their capacity to meet rising demand. Additionally, rising operating costs, inflation, fees for compulsory qualifications, assessments, and high drop-out rates are making it unprofitable for training providers to re-enter the care sector at current funding rates. Click here for more.
