Beyond the Whitepaper: Repositioning social care as a credible, skilled and aspirational career

By James Swaffield, Chief Executive of Paragon Skills.

Beyond the Whitepaper

A deeper dive into the insights from our latest report

The challenge of attracting young people into adult social care is becoming increasingly urgent.

Our recent whitepaper, The adult social care challenge: Attracting young people into the workforce, explored the resourcing challenges facing the sector today and how the sector might address those challenges by attracting more young people into the Care workforce.

As part of the project, we gathered leaders from across adult social care to come together and discuss real solutions to this increasingly urgent problem.

From these roundtables, six clear, actionable priorities emerged; providing a practical framework for building a more sustainable workforce. In this series, I explore each of these in more detail.

The First Priority: Repositioning social care as a credible, skilled and aspirational career

The first priority focuses on how the sector is viewed by those considering it. Repositioning social care as a credible, skilled and aspirational career is about changing perceptions, strengthening the way roles are presented, and making the long-term opportunities within the sector more visible and compelling to the next generation of future carers and leaders.  People increasingly look for careers with purpose; careers in care provide exactly that.

While practical changes to recruitment and development are essential, they are unlikely to succeed without first addressing this perception challenge. This priority sets the foundation for attracting the next generation into the sector.

“We cannot solve the Social Care workforce challenge without inspiring the next generation. Too many young people don’t choose care simply because they’ve never been exposed to it” – Anita Goyal, Founder, Who Cares Wins

Why perception comes first

Before recruitment strategies, training pathways or retention initiatives can succeed, there is a more basic issue to address: how social care is perceived.

If young people do not see the care sector as a credible career option, they are unlikely to consider it at all. That makes every other effort to attract talent significantly harder.

This is why repositioning social care is not just one priority among six. It is the foundation that underpins all the others.

The perception gap

One of the clearest insights from the report is the gap between reality and perception.

Social care offers purposeful work, structured development and real career progression pathways through apprenticeships and training. Yet it is still often seen by young people as a temporary role with limited progression opportunities, in a sector that lacks recognition.

This disconnect remains one of the biggest barriers to attracting new talent.

From job to profession

Repositioning social care means shifting the narrative from job to profession.

This starts with how roles are described and communicated. Language shapes perception.  Referring to “care professionals” rather than “care workers” may seem subtle, but it reinforces the level of skill, responsibility and expertise involved. More importantly, as a sector we must consistently communicate that care offers long-term, skilled and meaningful careers.

Making progression visible

A key part of this shift is making career pathways clearer.

One of the recurring themes from care leaders is that progression in the sector exists, but is not always visible to those outside it, particularly young people making early career decisions.

Providers can strengthen their approach by:

• Clearly mapping career pathways within their organisation

• Demonstrating how individuals can progress from entry-level roles into senior and leadership positions
• Highlighting the role of apprenticeships as structured routes into the profession and to develop the knowledge skills and behaviours to progress their career

When these pathways are clear, careers in social care can be a credible and attractive option.

Making it real

To truly shift perception, opportunities must feel tangible. Career pathways and frameworks are important, but for many young people, they remain abstract unless they can see what they look like in practice.

Sharing real stories of career progression helps bring the sector to life, showing young people what a future in care can look like and making success feel achievable.

By actively showcasing these real journeys, we can inspire the next generation, challenge outdated perceptions, and clearly demonstrate that social care offers meaningful, skilled careers with genuine long-term opportunity.

A foundation for change

It is easy to think about workforce challenges in terms of recruitment campaigns or staffing shortages. But the insight from this priority is clear; a critical first step in attracting more young people to careers in the sector is to demonstrate the great aspects of the sector, and the opportunities for genuine careers with purpose

Repositioning social care as a credible, skilled and aspirational career is not a quick fix. It is a long-term shift in mindset, messaging and visibility.

However, it is also the change that enables everything else. Without it, attracting the next generation will remain a challenge. With it, the sector can begin to build a stronger, more sustainable workforce for the future.

In the next blog, I’ll explore the second priority, focusing on how care providers can modernise recruitment and better connect with younger audiences.