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Social Care

Social Care

Sector Overview Wales

The social care sector in Wales is made up of public, private and voluntary employers providing a wide range of complex and diverse services. These are designed to enable some of the most vulnerable people in our society to live as independently and safely as possible. There are well over 100,000 people at any one time receiving support from social services authorities in their own home, in day settings and in residential and nursing homes. The quality and responsiveness of the services that are provided are directly linked to the quality, sufficiency and stability of the workforce.

There are currently approximately 70,000 people employed in social care in Wales with over 50% employed by private employers. 80% of those working in the sector are women. 62% of the social care workforce is over the age of 35.

www.adss.org.uk

Fast facts

  • The social care workforce of 70,000 (full-time and part-time) represents 4% of the total workforce in Wales, employing a similar number to the business and finance sector.
  • The social care sector is complex. It is made up of three subsectors, the public, private and voluntary, delivering services in a range of home, community and residential settings to a diverse range of clients.
  • The balance of public to independent provision varies across service areas and in localities. This mix is primarily driven by the commissioning and service strategies of local authorities that are developed within national policy frameworks.
  • The main vocational skill areas include social work and care skills with over a quarter of employees in the sector working as care assistants.
  • The majority of services delivered are publicly funded, but the independent sector has grown significantly in the last 20 years and over half of the total workforce is estimated to now work in the private sector.
  • The majority of employment in social care is located in South East Wales. Between 1990 and 2000 employment in the sector in North Wales grew by 30%.
  • Trends across the sub-sectors cannot be predicted at this stage as some are predicted to decline, others are expected to grow, for example the delivery of intermediate care and rehabilitation services. However, overall the social care sector is expected to grow, and at a faster rate than the Welsh economy as a whole.
Source: FSW