Career progression within the care sector

Career Progression in Social Care

Many people dream of career progression. Oftentimes when you start a new job, you don’t plan on working the exact same role forever. 

In some sectors, there’s an obvious path to follow or ladder to climb, but in social care, there’s a lot of options. If you start a social care career as a care assistant or support worker, you could end up almost anywhere. 

Some opportunities for career progression may utilize the practical skills you’ve learnt as a result of being a carer, and others might look at your transferable skills such as being an effective communicator and adaptable. A common misconception is that career progression often means leaving the company you’re currently working for, but this isn’t always true. At The SKA Group, we’ve had many care assistants and support workers who have gone onto other roles within the organisation. 

You might already know where you want your career to take you. We’ve put together a few questions you might consider to help guide you when it comes to social care career progression. 

What interests you? 

Career progression isn’t always a straight, set path - it varies for everyone. It helps to think about the aspects of your current role that you enjoy the most; is there a way to incorporate this into your career progression? 

For some roles, such as nursing or higher level management positions, you may need additional qualifications or training. If studying further into a field interests you, consider whether you’d like to balance studying and working, or whether you want a break in order to complete higher education. Many qualifications can be completed whilst you're working, but as a result may take longer to finish. 

It can also be helpful to consider the hours and schedule you’d like. For some individuals, they may wish to have a more flexible schedule that fits around family life, but for some they may want a standard monday-friday work week. 

Considering exactly what you’d like to achieve from progressing your career can help you narrow down the options and choose the best path for you. 

So, what roles can I progress to after working as a care assistant?

There are a great many possibilities when looking to expand on your care career. 

If you’re currently an assistant or support worker, you may wish to continue delivering personal care and being a direct support contact for your service users, whilst helping them keep their independence. A lot of care assistants love their current role and the flexibility it provides. 

However, you can progress into specific areas and become a specialist carer. If you enjoy supporting people with certain conditions or disabilities, you could choose to work primarily with those people. As an example, if you’re particularly effective at helping service users who suffer with dementia, you can look into roles that focus on that condition. There may also be additional qualifications you can take to help expand your understanding of these conditions too, allowing you to provide even better support to your client. 

If you’d like more of a change and don’t wish to specialise in specific areas, there are many more roles available for you. 

Care Supervisor 

Care supervisors often work very closely with care assistants. Their job is mostly practical and on the front line as opposed to being office-based but they have more input when it comes to creating care plans and schedules. Care supervisors are there to support and supervise care workers, ensuring everything is running smoothly and helping solve problems where applicable.

Care Coordinator

A care coordinator tends to be based in an office or it can also be a remote role depending on the employer. Coordinators maintain rotas, ensure everything is compliant with regulations and work to maintain the continuity of effective care. Care coordinators are often very well organised, flexible and know how to motivate their colleagues.  

Registered Manager

Registered managers are a key element of every care organisation. They are often responsible for all of the people and processes within that company, including care workers, service users, support plans, budgets and policies. Being a registered manager is a big responsibility - you’ll need to be a confident and reliable leader who is exceptional at keeping on top of admin based tasks. You’ll need to be aware of current trends, regulations and issues within the sector. Having front line experience from care work can be really helpful when working as a registered manager as you’ll understand the daily challenges your staff face. 

Nursing and Nursing Assistants

Being a care worker is very different to nursing, though this is still a great choice for progressing your career. As a successful care assistant or support worker, you’ll already have many of the transferable skills needed to be successful in nursing, such as working well under pressure, being compassionate and reliable. In order to transition for care to nursing, further education will need to be pursued and training will need to be completed.

Non-Care Administrative Roles

As you work for different companies across various positions, you might come across different, support based roles that might interest you. These departments can vary depending on the company, but there might be progression options in the form of IT support, managing payroll or a position in HR.

 No matter what role you start in, or where you currently are in your career, there are always ample opportunities to develop and progress in social care; the paths are much broader than you might have initially thought. 

Here at The SKA Group Ltd, we have various support worker vacancies available. If you’re a passionate, dedicated individual ready to make a difference, or if you’re looking to explore the next stage of your career, get in touch today! We are ready and waiting to help you secure that next big role and help you further your career.