Adult Social Care Workforce Development, Learning and Development Offer

Tender description

As announced in Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care and the white paper: People at the Heart of Care, there will be a £500m investment in the adult social care workforce over the next three years. A significant part of this investment will be in knowledge, skills and occupational support, and will build the framework for a career in social care for the long-term. Through this investment, the Department of Health and Social Care ('The Authority') intends to improve opportunities for social care workers to undertake structured learning and development and training to ensure the workforce has the right skills and knowledge to provide high quality care and to support professional development and progression.The Authority is expecting to run competitions for the delivery of the knowledge and skills investment, and this PIN includes details of two elements of the reform package. Lot 1: The Authority is looking to contract a supplier or multiple suppliers to deliver a Learning and Development Offer for the ASC Sector. This requirement is currently at the pre-tender stage, the purpose of which is to engage service providers providing an opportunity to: -<br/><br/>- get a clear understanding of what business outcomes the Authority requires and ask questions regarding the proposed scope of work.<br/>- give your views on how to structure the requirement so that it maximises market interest, innovation, and value for money.<br/><br/>The contract length is yet to be decided but at a maximum would be 3 years with an approximate value of up to £150m. The brief description of the offers are as follows: <br/><br/>1. Registered Managers<br/>This offer will include provision of level 5 qualifications for Registered Managers.<br/><br/>The authority is seeking the provision of training and accreditation for the Level 5 diploma in Leading and Managing an Adult Care Service. New or existing Registered Managers who do not currently hold a Level 5 or equivalent qualification will be eligible to apply for this training, which we expect to commence in summer 2022. We anticipate that this equates to at least 9000 Level 5 training places RMs over the next three years. <br/><br/>The authority will fund the latest level 5 specification which was developed by Skills for Care in May 2021 in consultation with employers and other stakeholders in adult social care. <br/><br/>It is likely the requirements for the contract will place a strong emphasis on successful engagement with the sector to stimulate demand for these qualifications. We’re particularly interested to hear from suppliers that have proposals for a process that could identify the Registered Managers who might be eligible for the training offer.<br/> <br/>2. The non-registered care workforce<br/><br/>The offer will provide learning and development opportunities for the non-registered adult social care workforce (for example, staff working in care homes, supported living, domiciliary care services and similar but does not include nurses, social workers, occupational therapists or other registered professionals working in those settings). <br/><br/>The authority is creating a new Learning and Development offer which will create opportunities for individuals working in non-registered adult social care roles to increase skills and qualifications in the workforce. The offer will include recognised and respected qualifications at level 2, 3 and 4 and will want to explore what other learning and development opportunities could be included.<br/><br/>The offer will look to build general skills as well as specialist and condition specific knowledge and skills to enhance expertise in a range of all settings and services. <br/>The authority is interested in hearing from suppliers who are developing new learning and development opportunities to mitigate skills gaps. <br/><br/>The offer will look to include specific provision to develop the digital skills of the workforce.