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Health & Social Care Career Development

Learn more about how to develop your career path in Health and Social Care. On this page you’ll find plenty of resources about career options, courses, development opportunities and more. Don’t forget, your tutor is always available to support you when it comes to any questions you may have about your career journey.

Roles in Health and Social Care

There are many different areas of health and social care, you may find you are suited for one particular route better than others. Here, we explain the options available.

Levels and Skill Requirements in Health and Social Care

We all have to start somewhere, but the question is; where will you go? Here you can explore the skills required to obtain your career goals, whatever level you see your future progressing to.

Courses and Careers Advice

Continuous learning, thought leadership, free courses and paid professional courses, we’ve gathered them all together here.

Roles in Health and Social Care Careers

There are many routes available to someone who is interested in care as a career. You may find you need to try out a few before you find one that suits you best. Each path requires slightly different skills and qualifications, some may offer a better work-life balance, some may offer better pay opportunities and some may be highly rewarding if you love working closely with people to make their lives better. Below you can explore some of the common career paths in health and social care.

Typical Health and Social Care Career Paths

Use the categories below to investigate the career paths open to you depending on your chosen area of care work.

Residential Homes are for people with ‘low’ care needs, they may be older citizens or people with disabilities. These homes provide live-in accommodation and 24-hour access to care staff.

Nursing homes provide residential accommodation as well as nursing support with personal care. They are for people with more complex needs or healthcare requirements. 

Supported Living services provide community accommodation for those who wish to maintain independence, with the added assurance of on-site support care.

Community Nursing services can be private or publicly funded and provide care to individuals within their own homes on a short or long-term basis, usually through regular scheduled appointments and visits.

Domiciliary carers are regular or live-in private individuals who provide care within the client’s own home. They may provide support to maintain an independent lifestyle, or help with enrichment and outings.

Residential Home Career Paths

Residential Home Cleaners

Typical Job Titles:

Housecleaner, Cleaning Operative

Qualifications Required:

In-house training

Residential Home Care Givers

Typical Job Titles:

Carer, Support Worker, HCA (Health Care Assistant).

Qualifications Required:

In-house training, Care Certificate, Diploma Level 2, Diploma Level 3, Medication
Competency, Moving and Handling Competency

Residential Home Management

Typical Job Titles:

Area Manager, Manager, Deputy Manager

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 4/5/7, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Care Home Career Paths

Nursing Home Cleaners

Typical Job Titles:

Housecleaner, Cleaning Operative

Qualifications Required:

In-house training

Nursing Home Care Givers

Typical Job Titles:

Carer, Support Worker, HCA (Health Care Assistant).

Qualifications Required:

In-house training, Care Certificate, Diploma Level 2, Diploma Level 3, Medication
Competency, Moving and Handling Competency

Care Home Management

Typical Job Titles:

Head of Care, Team Leader, Senior Activities Coordinator

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Supported Living Career Paths

Supported Living Care Givers

Typical Job Titles:

Key Worker, Senior, Team Leader, House Leader

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Supported Living Management

Typical Job Titles:

Area Manager, Manager, Deputy Manager

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Nursing Career Paths

Nursing

Typical Job Titles:

Area Manager, Manager, Deputy Manager, Clinical Lead, Head of Care

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 4/5/7, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention, Registered Nurse

Nursing Leadership

Typical Job Titles:

Head of Care, Nursing Associate, Team Leader, Activities Coordinator

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Domiciliary / Extra Care Career Paths

Domiciliary/ Extra Care

Typical Job Titles:

Team Leader, Senior

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Domiciliary/ Extra Care Management

Typical Job Titles:

Manager, Deputy Manager

Qualifications Required:

Diploma Levels 3/4, Champions – Dignity/ Dementia/ Infection Prevention

Skills Required in Care

Care work requires some very specific and fundamental skills, and more so than most other industries, it’s highly important that you ensure you have adequate learning and training to perform your role to a high standard. The stakes can be higher and you’ll have more responsibility than in other industries, but care is one of the most rewarding careers out there, and those who do it well find huge amounts of fulfilment in their day to day work.

Carer / Support Worker / HCA

People in this role work directly with vulnerable people who may have specialist needs. They require patience and a high level of technical skill, but most importantly, empathy, kindness and respect.

Hard Skills Required

Moving and Handling

Medication Competency 

First Aid

Food Hygiene 

IT Skills

Documentation

Numeracy

Management

Soft Skills Required

Empathy

Teamwork

Time Management

Emotional Intelligence

Calm Under Pressure

Problem Solving

Communication

Creativity

Adaptability

Resilience

Team Leader / Supervisor / Senior

Team leaders, Supervisors and Seniors are responsible for the management, motivation and supervision of multiple care workers. They are likely to still administer care to clients directly, but some of their time may be taken up by other responsibilities such as the organisation of more complex care, essential paperwork and due-diligence, staff feedback and more.

Hard Skills Required

Moving and Handling

Medication Competency 

First Aid

Food Hygiene 

IT Skills

Documentation

Numeracy

Management

Soft Skills Required

Empathy

Teamwork

Time Management

Emotional Intelligence

Calm Under Pressure

Problem Solving

Communication

Creativity

Adaptability

Resilience

Initiative

Deputy / Clinical Lead / Head of Care

Leaders in care are still often required to perform client-facing tasks as it’s essential for them to form rapport and build confidence with those they are responsible for. They ensure that care givers are organised, trained and motivated to administer high-quality service and meet essential guidelines, rules and regulations.

Hard Skills Required

Recruitment

Budget Management / Financial Competence 

Microsoft 365 (Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, Word)

Data Presentation

Scheduling

Social Media Management

Medication Competency

First Aid

Soft Skills Required

Empathy

Teamwork

Time Management

Emotional Intelligence

Calm Under Pressure

Problem Solving

Communication

Creativity

Adaptability

Initiative

Conflict Resolution

Customer Service

Presentation Skills

Stress Management

Coaching and Mentoring

Decision Making

Organisation Skills

Resilience

Strategic Thinking

Manager / Area Manager

Managers and Area managers are often responsible for the delivery of high-quality care across multiple sites. They will liaise with local authorities and company leads to ensure strict high standards are met across the board and work with stakeholders and suppliers to delivery excellence in care, within budget.

Hard Skills Required

Recruitment, Inductions & Retention

Budget Management / Financial Analysis

Microsoft 365 (Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, Word)

Data Presentation

Scheduling

Social Media Management

Medication Competency

First Aid

Soft Skills Required

Empathy

Teamwork

Time Management

Emotional Intelligence

Calm Under Pressure

Problem Solving

Communication

Creativity

Adaptability

Initiative

Conflict Resolution

Customer Service

Presentation Skills

Stress Management

Coaching and Mentoring

Decision Making

Organisation Skills

Resilience

Strategic Thinking

Visionary

Health and Social Care Courses & Resources

Continuous learning is important for those in care as having an active interest in the latest thought leadership, research and developments can significantly improve the quality of life for the vulnerable people you work with.

Here are a few courses you can take, that we personally recommend for your professional development:

Social Care Institute for Excellence

A leading agency for care that drives forward research & knowledge within the field.

Skills for Care

Here you can access a variety of resources and training courses to enhance your skills in care.

Careers Advice

Remember, when you study with NTG Training, your tutor will always be happy to answer any specific questions you may have about the next steps in your career. However, if you’d like to view our favourite online resources for careers advice, you can find them here.

National Careers Service: Becoming a Care Worker

National Careers Service: Becoming a Nursing Associate

Skills for Care: Becoming a Care Manager

GOV.UK: Career Routes Into Nursing

NHS: Careers Advice

SocialCare.co.uk: Jobs Board

Develop Your Career in Care with an Apprenticeship

Your employer can enroll you on to an apprenticeship course. Apprenticeships help you to gain a qualification while you are working.

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