In May 2024, NOCN Group gained approval from Skills for Care and Ofqual for the delivery of its new accredited, portable Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, which was developed in response to the fact that 54% of direct care workers in the UK do not currently have a Level 2 qualification or above and many face barriers in doing apprenticeships due to the requirements for English and maths. It aims to support 37,000 individuals through the new Adult Social Care Training and Development fund, enabling workers to not only remain in adult social care but build fulfilling careers by becoming qualified and recognised for their dedication and professionalism.

The £53.91 million Adult Social Care Training and Development Fund made available by the previous Government was put on hold during the General Election period and the new Government has now confirmed that it will not continue. However, there will be funding made available at the same level as previous years to support the development of the adult social care workforce, details of which will be available soon. 

Graham Hasting-Evans, chief executive, NOCN Group, commented:

“Care workers have always been vital to society and the economy but in the post-Brexit, ageing population era, they are more important and should be more valued than ever. It’s important to recognise that the care sector is under-staffed, under qualified and has an ageing workforce. The new career pathways opened up through the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate will help the sector in working towards having an improved quality of care for all service users, with a strong and consistent baseline standard.”

Cheryle Hardy, NOCN Sector Manager for Health and Social Care, added:

“We are disappointed to hear that the funding will not continue in its previous form but remain hopeful that the new Government will recognise the importance of supporting it and look forward to hearing their plans. In the meantime, we are pressing ahead and are prepared to do everything we can to support Centres in delivering this vital qualification. There are still some great opportunities for funded learning available via the new Training and Development fund, and lots of employers either don’t know this is available, or they aren’t sure how to utilise it. We're here to help and will provide updates as soon as we have them.”

Those undertaking the NOCN Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate will complete 15 units in total with access to e-learning resources, learner workbooks and teaching materials. Recognition of prior learning will be taken into account by NOCN and learners will be encouraged to continuously develop not only their care skills but also sustainability, digital and functional skills.

Find out more about this NEW qualification here or get in touch with our Sector Manager on cheryle.hardy@nocn.org.uk.