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What is the new Care Certificate? Everything you need to know
A new Care Certificate for social care workers was launched in June 2024. Here our Sector Manager for Health and Social Care, Craig Wade, explains what it is, who the care certificate is for, and where to get it.
What is the new Care Certificate?
NCFE developed a specification for the new Care Certificate qualification as part of the Skills for Care commissioning by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The regulated Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate is based on the existing standards and went live in June 2024.
The Adult Social Care Certificate was due to receive £53million in funding from the previous government at this time it went live – however this funding was paused due to purdah as part of the General Election.
Under the new Government, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) for the adult social care workforce for financial year 2024 to 2025.
The LDSS is intended to provide financial contributions towards learning and development, helping the non-regulated adult social care workforce to complete courses and qualifications. This provides an opportunity for non-regulated care staff, including deputy and CQC-registered managers and agency staff, to gain recognition for existing expertise, and develop new skills and specialisms.
The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate is funded through this and allocated a maximum reimbursement of £1,500. But we must remember that this funding can only be used for the cost of the course or qualification. Funding cannot be used to cover:
- backfill pay
- travel costs
- any other associated costs.
Who is the new Care Certificate for?
The new Care Certificate is aimed at those who enter the social care sector without a qualification.
According to Skills for Care, this currently represents more than half (54%) of the workforce who don’t hold a relevant social care qualification. Of those that do hold a qualification, 2% have a Level 1 and 19% a Level 2.
In addition, the recently published Skills England: driving growth and widening opportunities report called out that the health and social care industry has the highest number of jobs in critical and elevated demand, with care workers and home carers being the highest proportion at 725,000.
The ambition is for the Care Certificate to support people to not only remain in social care, but to build a rewarding and fulfilling career. By becoming qualified and further professionalising the sector, it will benefit both the workforce and those they support.
Who can deliver the new Care Certificate?
If you’re a training provider, you can deliver the new Care Certificate. If you’re currently delivering the existing Care Certificate, you can also switch to the new qualification. In either case, speak to our team about the options available to you.
If you have any ideas or specific education or training needs to support your current and future workforce, we can help. Get in touch to discuss your options.
As the number one awarding organisation for social care, we’re committed to helping stop the stop gap and facilitating rewarding careers in this vital sector.
To discover more about the new Care Certificate and to explore your options, visit our dedicated page.
The new Care Certificate is aimed at those who enter the social care sector without a qualification. According to Skills for Care, this currently represents more than half (54%) of the workforce who don’t hold a relevant social care qualification. Of those that do hold a qualification, 2% have a Level 1 and 19% a Level 2.
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