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Funding available to support learning and development for social care workers in 2023

Learning and development is important for everyone working across social care. We look at funding options which can help to cover the costs.

The start of the year is a good time to plan out learning and development for your team this year.

Investing in learning and development for your team has many benefits – from keeping your staff’s skills and knowledge refreshed to increasing job satisfaction, which can help to improve turnover rates too.

Learning and development can come at a cost, but there are funding options available to help social care employers to cover some of the costs of training.

Workforce Development Fund

The Workforce Development Fund (WDF) can cover some of the costs for a wide range of training programmes and qualifications for people working in social care.

You can claim up to £2,000 per learner per funding year, and you can claim funding for the same learner in multiple funding years, to support their ongoing personal development and career progression.

You can have a look at our list of qualifications, learning programmes and digital learning modules that can be covered.

This includes a wide range of options from managerial training, to modules to support with Care Quality Commission (CQC) training, to qualifications in autism, dementia care, end of life care and more.

The funding can cover the direct cost of the training as well as associated costs, such as employees’ salaries whilst they’re undertaking training and venue costs for training.

The deadline to apply for this year’s WDF is approaching.

You must apply for the funding by 28 February 2023, with claims due by 31 May.

Find out more about WDF and apply.

Apprenticeship funding

Apprenticeships are a good way to develop your current staff by allowing them to learn new skills and perhaps progress into new or more senior roles. They include a mix of on-the-job and academic learning.

Funding is available from the Government to contribute towards the costs of apprenticeships for your staff.

How much is funded and how you access the funding will vary depending on whether you’re a levy paying organisation (this is all UK employers with an annual payroll of over £3million.)

Find out more about the apprenticeship funding available for different organisations and how to apply.

Rapid induction and essential training

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic three packages of funded training were developed. This includes the ‘Rapid induction programme’ for new starters, refresher training for existing staff and a volunteer’s programme.

The rapid induction and refresher training programmes covers essential skills such as assisting and moving people; basic life support; fire safety; food safety; health and safety awareness; infection prevention and control, and medication management and safeguarding (specifically around isolation). The rapid induction also contains the main knowledge elements from the Care Certificate.

The programmes are fully funded and provided by some of our endorsed providers, until 31 May 2023.

Find out more about the rapid induction and essential training and how to access it.

Find more support and opportunities for learning and development with our #KeepLearning spotlight.

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