It is becoming more and more likely that when you walk into any care service, perhaps even your own, that you will find teams with an increasingly older demographic.

Recent Skills for Care reports show a trend of roughly 29% of the adult social care workforce in England is aged 55 and over. To put this into perspective, this figure has climbed from around 23% to 24% a decade ago to nearly a third of the sector today.

At the very same time, we are watching a parallel demographic change unfold among the people needing support. Individuals are living longer, often with complex health and social care needs. Navigating both an ageing population and an ageing workforce means workforce sustainability must be planned with both groups in mind.

Experienced staff bring an irreplaceable depth of knowledge and continuity to a health and social care setting. Their judgement, established relationships and understanding of individual needs can strengthen teams and reassure the people receiving support. Managing rotas, long standing shifts and heavy support tasks requires a flexible approach to protect the health and wellbeing of older workers who want to stay in the sector.

The health and social care sector also relies heavily on welcoming new faces through younger local workers or international workers who bring fresh perspectives to an ever changing workforce. A sustainable workforce needs both: experienced older care workers who can pass on valuable knowledge and newer colleagues who can build the capacity the sector will need in the years ahead.

Creating a workplace where older workers can share their experience with newer colleagues helps support resilience and knowledge building. With thoughtful recruitment, flexible staffing and opportunities for mentoring, organisations can retain valuable expertise while building the next generation of care professionals.

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