Articles

Think Tank Urges Home Care Apprenticeships

16/09/2013

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working conditions (Eurofound) exists to provide knowledge about social and work-related policies. Their newest research about home-care services indicates that more people are employed in this field than ever before and that the figure has risen over the last five years. They estimate that almost five million European workers are now providing home-care services of some kind.

Caring for people within their communities rather than elsewhere is a growing trend, with advances in technology helping with assisted living projects and improving the independence of patients. Eurofound’s report found that creating jobs in this area is subject to many barriers, including a shortage of recruits and limited budgets. With caring positions often involving difficult working conditions and poor wages, one of the barriers to growth is successfully recruiting new and younger candidates into the sector. The report indicates that further shortages are likely, especially regarding the most well-qualified staff.

 

Attracting younger people into the caring profession could play a role in lowering youth unemployment rates, and would ensure continuity in the workforce. Eurofound’ report argues that this is important given the average age of workers in the health and social care sectors, where almost a third of workers are aged 50 or older. Offering apprenticeships in home care services could also be beneficial to young adults who are not currently employed or in any kind of education or training.