Over 200 people have applied for just three funded social work apprenticeship places at Devon County Council, in a striking show of demand at a time when many councils across the country are struggling to recruit and keep social care staff.
At a Cabinet meeting this week (Wednesday 10 June), councillors described the level of interest as “extraordinary”, and a clear sign that more people want to build careers in children’s social care in Devon.
Across the country, long-standing workforce shortages continue to affect social services, particularly for children, and many areas find it difficult to maintain stable teams and keep experienced staff. This can lead to high staff turnover, meaning families can see several different social workers over time, making consistent support harder to deliver.
Against this national picture, Devon County Council is seeing a different trend. It follows heavy investment in recent years to stabilise and strengthen their social care team, with improvements in leadership, induction, supervision and wellbeing.
A new People Strategy and tailored recruitment and retention plan to support people entering the profession and to encourage them to stay and develop their careers has sharply reduced reliance on temporary staff and created a sustainable pipeline of permanent social workers.
Newly qualified social workers also benefit from an extended two-year support package through the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme, offering longer and more structured support than many other areas.
The approach has contributed to retention rates close to 100 per cent locally, with almost all the 50 newly qualified social workers supported through the training programme over the last two years staying in their jobs.
The Council now wants to build on that success, and the subsequent surge in demand for places on the programme, with a long-term plan to “grow our own” stronger, stable local workforce by creating more ways to become a social worker and encourage people from a broader range of backgrounds to enter the profession.
It plans to increase the number of newly qualified social workers joining the training programme to up to 40 each year, alongside introducing new postgraduate training opportunities for existing staff to train as social workers while continuing in their current roles.
The apprenticeship route will expand from three places to seven to allow more young people to train as social workers while earning a salary, making the profession more accessible, particularly for those who may not be able to follow traditional university pathways or who are looking to change career.
The Council also expects the changes to reduce its reliance on agency staff, who often only work in services for a short time. Having more permanent staff should help improve stability and continuity for families and create stronger teams where staff can support each other. It will also save money, which can be reinvested into training, allowing the Council to train more social workers in the future.
Councillor Richard Jefferies, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, said:
“Having a stable, skilled workforce is absolutely vital to improving outcomes for children and families in Devon who need consistent support from people they know and trust. These changes will help us achieve that.
“What we’ve seen over recent years is that when we invest in our social workers properly, giving them time, support and high-quality learning, they stay with us and they thrive.
“By expanding our training programmes, we can open-up more opportunities for people from a variety of backgrounds to join us, whether they are starting out, already working in our services or may not previously have even considered a career in social work.
“The level of interest in our apprenticeship programme is incredibly encouraging. It shows that people are inspired to work in children’s social care and want to be part of what we’re building here in Devon.
“It also says a lot about the hard work and commitment of our teams and the culture they’ve created. People want to come and work here because they can see that this is a place where they will be supported, valued and given the opportunity to build a meaningful career.
“It’s a really important step forward for Devon. By taking a long-term approach to investing in our workforce by creating more routes into social work, developing talent and supporting growth, we are building a stronger, more stable service for the future.
“Ultimately, this is about giving children and families in Devon the consistent, high-quality support they deserve, from a confident and capable workforce that delivers the best possible support for children and families.”
Do it for Devon. Do it for helping the children and young people in our care to flourish and thrive in life. Find out about careers in Children’s Social Care – Children’s Social Care – Working for Devon | Devon County Council