A career in care: creating opportunities for the next generation
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As young people receive their GCSE results and consider what comes next, there is a renewed national debate about the routes we offer them into rewarding work. Adult social care should be part of that conversation.
Today, young people across the country are receiving their GCSE results and thinking about their next steps. For some that will eventually mean university. For others it will be an apprenticeship, technical training or a different route into the workplace.
At the same time, there is growing concern about the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. Alan Milburn’s review of young people and work has highlighted the scale of the challenge, while the Government has put renewed emphasis on technical and vocational routes alongside more traditional academic pathways.
Adult social care has an important part to play in this conversation.
It already employs around 1.6 million people in England, in an extraordinary range of roles – from care and support workers to social workers and occupational therapists, and from commissioning and digital to management and senior leadership. These are skilled jobs that make a tangible difference to people’s lives.
But if we want more young people to see social care as a career of choice, we have to make it one.
That means fair pay and good working conditions, but it also means investing in people throughout their careers: providing high-quality training, apprenticeships and development opportunities, creating clear routes for progression and building workplace cultures in which people feel valued and supported.
The Prime Minister has rightly put a renewed focus on the social care workforce. As the Government develops its plans, we want to see an ambition not simply to recruit more people into care, but to make adult social care somewhere people can build fulfilling, rewarding and long-term careers.
And there are few better demonstrations of where those careers can lead than the people already working in the sector.
We asked two Directors of Adult Social Services to tell us how they began their careers, where social care has taken them and what needs to change to create opportunities for the next generation.
Carolyn Nice
Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and ADASS Workforce Co-Lead
My career began at 17 as a domestic in a care home. Those early experiences taught me the importance of dignity, compassion and seeing people as individuals. They inspired me to move into caring roles in residential and community services, supporting people to live independent and fulfilling lives.
I later joined the NHS as a Healthcare Assistant, working with adults with complex learning disabilities and mental health challenges. It was a role that reinforced the importance of integration, relationships, advocacy and understanding the person, not just their circumstances.
In 2002, I qualified as a Social Worker and began a journey through a range of professional, management and leadership roles. Along the way, I completed qualifications including PQSW and the Diploma in Management Studies, alongside leadership development programmes that have supported my growth throughout my career.
One principle has remained constant: people must be at the heart of everything we do. I am committed to rights-based practice, ensuring people have choice, control and a strong voice in decisions that affect their lives. Community involvement and co-production are central to my leadership beliefs. I firmly believe the best services are designed and delivered with people, not for them.
In 2023, I became Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. I took on responsibility for Public Health, Community Safety and Strategic Housing, providing greater opportunities to influence the wider factors that affect health and wellbeing and tackle inequalities across our communities.
Since 2023, I have also had the privilege of serving as National ADASS Workforce Co-Lead. Having started my own career in frontline care, I am passionate about creating opportunities for others to develop and progress. Through ADASS, we have worked with Skills for Care and partners to develop the National Workforce Strategy and identify workforce priorities that provide a framework for the future of adult social care, supporting clearer career pathways and greater development opportunities.
We continue to advocate for fair reward, career progression and professional development. I welcome the Fair Pay Agreement, but it is essential that Government works with the sector to ensure any agreement is fully funded and sustainable.
Social care has given me countless opportunities to learn, grow and make a difference. Even on the toughest days, I still believe it is the best job in the world. My message to anyone considering a career in social care is simple: take the opportunity. Together, we must continue to invest in our workforce, listen to our communities and champion the value of social care, ensuring it remains a profession where people can thrive.
Steph Downey
Strategic Director in Gateshead and ADASS Trustee responsible for Principal Social Workers
Like many social workers, I can trace my career back to a desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Over the years, that commitment has only deepened and, as my career developed into leadership and strategic roles, so too has my appreciation of the importance of learning and development in building a confident, skilled and sustainable workforce.
As ADASS Trustee with responsibility for the regulated workforce, I have the privilege of championing professions including social work, occupational therapy, social care nursing and specialist roles such as Approved Mental Health Professionals and Best Interest Assessors. These professions play a critical role in supporting people to live the lives they choose, often in increasingly complex circumstances.
To secure the future of these professions, we must ensure there are multiple routes into qualification and career progression. I am particularly passionate about degree apprenticeships as a route into both social work and occupational therapy. They offer opportunities for people who may not otherwise be able to access higher education, widening participation and bringing greater diversity into our professions. They also allow employers to develop talent from within, supporting staff who already understand their communities and services.
However, there is no single route that suits everyone. Traditional university programmes, fast-track schemes and apprenticeship pathways all have an important role to play. Our challenge is to ensure that talented people with a strong commitment to social justice can see a clear and achievable path into professional practice, whatever their background or circumstances.
This is equally true for colleagues working in non-regulated roles across all aspects of adult social care. Every day, care workers, support workers, coordinators, managers, and assessment practitioners demonstrate the skills, values and commitment that underpin high-quality care and support. Learning and development should help people thrive in their current roles while opening opportunities to progress into leadership, specialist practice or regulated professions for those that seek to.
We must also recognise the vital contribution of colleagues working in commissioning, quality assurance, data, performance, digital and transformation roles. These functions are essential to improving outcomes, driving innovation and ensuring services remain responsive to changing needs. They too require clear development pathways and opportunities to grow.
Investment in training and development is about more than filling vacancies. It is about recognising potential, nurturing talent and creating opportunities. When we invest in our workforce, we strengthen our services, improve outcomes for the people we support and build a sector that attracts, develops and retains talented people. The future of adult social care depends on the workforce we develop today.
