The latest Skills for Care 2025 State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce report tells a familiar but urgent story: the sector is growing, yet still under pressure. England’s adult social care workforce now contributes an estimated £77.8 billion to the economy – up 12% year-on-year – and supports 1.6 million filled posts across 42,000 establishments. Despite these gains, the sector continues to face real challenges around pay, qualifications and retention.
In the West Midlands specifically, there are an estimated 171,000 filled posts and 11,000 vacancies, a vacancy drop of nearly 19% since last year (compared to 7% across the whole of England), but turnover remains high at 23.4% in the West Midlands. Around 22% of the workforce are on zero-hours contracts, and 71% of staff are British nationals, with 25% from non-EU countries. These regional patterns mirror national pressures around stability, pay, and workforce ageing. The West Midlands workforce has an average age of 43, with 24% aged 55 or over – meaning a significant proportion may retire within the next ten years. This increases the urgency around attracting younger workers and improving early-career retention.
There is also a concern is that some improvements, including the falling vacancy rates, have been driven mainly by international recruitment, not domestic growth. Between 2022 and 2025, 225,000 international recruits entered direct care roles – providing much-needed stability. However, with government changes in July 2025 removing the ability to sponsor new overseas care workers and senior care workers, we can no longer rely on international recruitment in the same way. Only those already in the UK on existing visas can continue to work or transfer roles until 2028 (there is still a valuable pool of international care workers already here in the UK, with many looking to remain in the sector – you can access the West Midlands pool of international care workers, who are already in the UK, here – West Midlands based care providers have free access to candidates, until March 2026).
The West Midlands saw international recruitment fall from around 11,000 new overseas starters in 2023/24 to just 5,000 this year – a rapid drop that increases the pressure on local supply.
Connection and Retention Go Hand in Hand
Both the new Skills for Care research and the West Midlands International Recruitment Programme highlight that when people feel connected, they are more likely to remain with their employer. We’ve seen 12-week inductions being run for overseas care workers and these have worked really well, helping to build connection, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Elsewhere, shorter six-week induction programmes, often jointly funded by the Department of Work and Pensions and Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) have achieved similar success for domestic recruits – training designed to help unemployed people gain the skills needed to enter the adult social care sector. These initiatives show that structured onboarding and pastoral support are not just possible but they’re powerful retention tools.
Employment Conditions and Turnover
The Skills for Care 2025 data supports this: care workers with consistent training, qualifications, full-time contracts, and fair pay were three times more likely to stay than those without. However, the report also found that the average care worker’s pay is only 2% higher than the National Living Wage, leaving little room for real-terms growth – a challenge the sector must address collectively if we want to improve stability. It’s a clear case for investment in induction, mentoring, and wraparound support.
Young Workers: High Entry, High Exit
The report also highlights that younger workers experience the highest turnover across all age groups. Workers under 25 are more likely to join social care but also more likely to leave quickly. West Midlands evaluation and provider feedback highlight that younger staff often feel isolated and lack that sense of belonging, unsure of where to go for advice, and may lack access to wider support systems such as Citizens Advice, financial wellbeing guidance, or local voluntary-sector services.
Supporting younger workers – drawing on what has worked with international care workers, including structured onboarding, mentoring, social networks, peer to peer support and benefits advice – is essential if we want them to stay.
Skills for Care’s Report found that turnover drops dramatically when workers experience multiple ‘positive employment factors’: fair pay, not being on zero-hours contracts, receiving training and holding a qualification. Whilst working full-time is important to many, it’s less important to younger worker who actually value work-life balance and flexibility. This highlights the importance of tailoring the offer. Care workers with four or more positive factors had turnover rates as low as 20%, compared with 40% for those with none.
Inclusion Matters: Who Stays and Why
The West Midlands Learning & Evaluation International Recruitment Programme Report found that feeling socially and professionally included made the biggest difference to retention. Skills for Care’s latest data also shows that internationally recruited care workers are significantly more likely to stay, with an average turnover rate of 25.9% compared to 38.9% for domestically recruited workers. This reinforces the positive impact that structured onboarding, pastoral support and strong employer relationships, as seen in the West Midlands programme, can have on retention.
The report also highlights important differences between ethnic groups: care workers of Asian or Asian British ethnicity had the lowest turnover (19.9%), while turnover among Black, African, Caribbean or Black British workers was higher at 26.5%. Understanding these patterns helps providers identify which groups may need more targeted support, and where inclusive practice, mentoring and peer networks can make the biggest difference.
Extending What Works to the Whole Workforce
What we built for international care workers – wellbeing sessions, community connections, peer support groups, and practical guidance on rights, benefits and local services – are exactly the kinds of wraparound support younger and domestic workers also need.
Governance, Quality and Shared Learning
The 2025 report and West Midlands insight and data both underline the importance of early risk spotting and shared governance. Preventing exploitation and promoting ethical recruitment is an ongoing process – one that benefits employers, workers, and the wider community.
Through the International Recruitment Programme and wider regional collaboration, it’s clear that most employers want to do the right thing. However, some may be unaware of how everyday practices, such as particular employment arrangements, recruitment models, or operational pressures, can unintentionally place workers at risk.
Addressing these risks requires continued awareness, education, and practical support. Regional forums such as the West Midlands Provider Forum and Skills for Care’s national and regional networks have shown how real-time data sharing and collaborative quality assurance can help spot emerging risks early, coordinate responses, and support consistent standards across providers.
Pastoral Support and Workforce Development
Retention remains one of the sector’s toughest challenges, with many workers leaving within their first few months. Evaluation of the West Midlands International Recruitment Programme found that providers who invested in structured onboarding, regular supervision, and peer mentoring achieved higher retention rates and greater workforce satisfaction – consistent pastoral support was one of the strongest predictors of early retention. West Midlands Apprenticeship Project has also shown that wraparound pastoral support and peer networks can significantly reduce early attrition.
Providers who create supportive environments, with structured inductions, mentoring, and opportunities for progression through frameworks like the Care Workforce Pathway, are seeing improved stability and morale. The 2025 report highlights that fewer than half (46%) of the workforce now hold a relevant adult social care qualification, underlining the importance of structured learning and leadership pathways.
Across the West Midlands, 67% of direct care staff have started, partially completed or achieved the Care Certificate – but in some local authorities, more than a third have not yet started it.
The Path Ahead
International recruitment has provided valuable breathing space, helping to stabilise the workforce and maintain essential services. However, the next stage is about retention, progression, and partnership – ensuring that those who have joined the sector are supported to stay, develop, and build lasting careers.
The region benefits from a strong ‘core’ workforce, with an average of nine years’ experience and 70% of staff having worked in the sector for at least three years. Retaining this core – while better supporting new starters – is essential to long-term sustainability.
It is equally important to continue investing in our existing workforce and to recruit from the pool of skilled international care workers already living and working in the UK. By supporting ethical mobility within the UK care sector, alongside developing local talent, we can strengthen workforce stability, reduce recruitment costs, and promote fairness across the system.
Around 30% of the region’s registered managers are aged 55 or over, equivalent to around 900 to 3,000 people approaching retirement, which makes succession planning and leadership development a pressing regional priority.
Care providers can access free learning and development through the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS), which provides funding for training and qualifications for non-regulated staff. To be eligible, providers must sign up for the scheme and ensure staff meet the criteria for non-regulated care staff. Additionally, completing the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASWDS) .
For care providers and local authorities, key messages include:
- Recognising the ongoing pay and career progression challenges – addressing these together is vital for sector stability.
- Investing in induction and connection: A supportive start leads to long-term stability.
- Working collaboratively – through local networks, provider forums, and Skills for Care initiatives – to share data and safeguard good practice is key.
- Our people are our greatest strength, so developing and retaining them should stay at the centre of what we do.
- Younger workers join in good numbers but often leave early. Focused onboarding, mentoring, and access to wellbeing or financial advice can make a real difference to early retention.
- You are still able to recruit from a skilled international workforce already in the UK. Visit irwestmids.co.uk/hire-sponsored-care-workers/ for more information (available until March 2026).
The West Midlands International Recruitment Programme has become a model of good practice nationally, demonstrating how ethical recruitment, strong governance, and collaboration across local authorities and providers can deliver both workforce stability and improved outcomes for people drawing on care. As one participant put it in the International Recruitment Learning & Evaluation Report,
“It’s not just about getting people here, it’s about helping them stay, grow, and belong.”
The Skills for Care 2025 report reminds us that while the workforce challenge is real, we must continue to act together – across councils, providers, and national partners – to make care work a sustainable, rewarding, and valued career.
