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The Abeyole family live at number 32. Richard and Chris have two adopted children and are currently fostering another who has complex needs and has been in care since her mum went to prison. Richard works with adults with learning difficulties in a supported living community setting. There are a number of opportunities and roles within social care working with adults or children and young people.

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Social care is about providing physical, emotional and social support to help people live their lives. For various reasons and at different stages in their lives, some people need support to develop and maintain their independence, dignity and control.

Social care provides a whole range of services to support adults and older people.

If you work in social care, you could help people in their own homes, in residential homes or in a number of other places such as day centres or supported housing.

Working in social care

Working in social care means supporting people with their non-clinical needs, although there is an important crossover between working in health and working in social care.

The social care sector employs 1.48 million people and will have half a million extra jobs available by 2030.

1.54 million people currently work in the social care sector. Because of the increasing number of disabled younger adults living longer and the growing number of older people needing care, adult social care is growing and the sector needs another half a million jobs, and people to do them, by 2035.

You could help people in their own homes, in residential homes or in a number of other places such as day centres or supported housing.

Health and social care working together

Many staff now work in roles that cover both health and social care, and the values and qualities needed are very similar.

The Government has set out the need for the health and social care sectors to develop new integrated care models to promote health and wellbeing and provide care. In the future, this could mean your career crossing both sectors in new and exciting roles.

Several methods are in place across the country to develop and promote these new ways of working, such as:

providing key skills training for health staff so they can assess mental health wellbeing

training for physiotherapists so they can undertake dementia assessments

enhancing the competencies of care home staff so they can support clinical and non-clinical professionals

ways of encouraging closer working and learning between primary and community-based nursing teams

See the Health Education England website for more information.

A range of options

There are many different types of social care career options to choose from. For example, you could:

The opportunities available

Visit the Think Care Careers website for details of the roles and progression available in social care, which include:

care worker

personal assistant

social worker

community support and outreach worker

supervisors and managers

occupational therapist

activities coordinator

technician

administration

support staff such as cleaning staff, chef and driver

You can also see how to develop in these roles, from entry level to senior manager.

Click on the Health Careers links below to see some of the health roles that work closely with or are also employed in social care settings:

If you work in a health or social care role, you're making a positive difference to someone's life. You'll need good communication and listening skills, and feel passionate about supporting other people to live a more independent and fulfilling life.

You can gain an enormous sense of personal achievement from simply knowing that your job is helping people. It's about making a positive difference to people's lives by contributing to their health, happiness and wellbeing.

These are just some of the qualities you need to be a great care worker:

treat people with respect and dignity

be a good listener and communicator

be reliable

be able to follow instructions and procedures

have an understanding of other people's feelings

Visit the Skills for Care websitefor more information about the values that employers are looking for. And have a look at the Health Careers Recruiting for values page to see how the above qualities compare to those needed to work in health.

Find out more

Visit the Think Care Careers website for more information about working in social care. The site will show you the types of role you can choose from, the skills and qualifications you'll need, and the different pathways and progression routes available.

Have a look at the explore roles section of this website to see which health roles cross over with social care.

Take the A question of care challenge to see what a career in care is like and if you've got what it takes.

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Working in social care Working in social care means supporting people with their non-clinical needs, although there is an important crossover between working in health and working in social care. 1.54 million people currently work in the social care sector.

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Chloe Smith lives at number 38 and currently works at the hospital in the finance department. She is undertaking a L2 apprenticeship and is at the start of her career pathway. There are a number of apprenticeships available in finance and accounting. For details see: Accounting and Finance - HASO (skillsforhealth.org.uk)

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NHS finance staff make sure sure that our budgets are spent wisely and for the benefit of our patients.

Working life

The NHS has to be sure that its finances are well run and our finance staff are crucial to making sure this happens.

"Being able to relate my work to helping someone in the hospital is the driving force for me, and it's lovely to know that, every day, I am developing a successful career at the same time as making a positive difference to someone else" - Lydia Wager, income and costing accountancy assistant, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Read Lydia's real-life story

Finance staff could be:

working in the payroll department, making sure all their colleagues get paid

handling payments for goods and services in an accounts department

purchasing goods and services in the procurement department

Senior finance managers could be:

setting and managing budgets

making decisions on how money is spent

tracking and checking budgets to make sure money has been spent correctly

The roles

Job roles have different titles. Some titles reflect the type of job and the level, for example

accounts assistant or accounts payable clerk

ledger controller

finance officer or procurement officer

finance clerk or finance assistant

accounting technician or management accountant

financial analyst

payroll manager, finance director or head of finance

Finance staff may be based in office areas of hospitals and health centres or in headquarters buildings. They work closely with admin staff and others in the wider healthcare team. They may also work with clinical and non-clinical managers. Most finance staff have little or no contact with patients.

Entry requirements

Finance staff in the NHS will usually work towards a finance-related qualification. You can either

enter as a trainee and study while you work

take a relevant finance qualification and then apply to join the NHS

To enter as a finance trainee, you usually need at least 2 GCSEs including English and maths, or equivalent. Employers may also ask for IT skills. They may expect some customer service or office experience.There are apprenticeships in finance departments.

If you join the NHS with a finance qualification this could be one with no set entry requirements such as

an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) Certificate or Diploma

Or you can study at a higher level, for an accountancy qualification awarded by one of the member bodies of the CCAB (Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies) for example

CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) Professional Qualification - you need two A levels and three GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) including maths and English

a degree in, for example, accounting or accounting and finance

It is important to check with your employer regarding the accountancy qualifications that they support.

For an accounting degree, you usually need

two or three A levels, including maths, along with five GCSEs (grades A-C), including English language and maths

or alternative qualifications, including

BTEC or HNC which includes maths or business

relevant vocational quaifications

access course which includes maths

equivalent Scottish or Irish qualifications

However, each institution sets its own entry requirements, so it's important to check carefully.

If you have a degree in a non-finance subject, you can apply for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme and work towards professional accountancy qalifications.

Personal characteristics and skills

Finance staff have to be

interested in figures and money

accurate and methodical

honest

able to work to deadlines

able to follow instructions and procedures

willing to use IT-based systems

They also need

numeracy skills

IT skills

organisational skills

Training and development

Finance trainees are encouraged to take further qualifications. They can become members of the Association of Accounting Technicians. Once qualified, finance staff can apply to become

chartered accountants with ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)

chartered public finance accountants with CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)

Those on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme will study for CIPFA qualifications.

Finance staff can also become members of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). HFMA organises conferences and events where staff can keep up to date and network with others and provides e-learning to update skills.

Pay and conditions

Most finance staff (except the most senior managers) working in the NHS are paid on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system. You will typically start in a post at AfC band 2. With further training and experience, you could apply for more senior positions such as finance officer at band 3 or team leader at band 4. There are managerial roles in finance at more senior levels. Finance staff in the NHS work standard hours of around 37.5 a week.

Terms and conditions will usually be different for financial staff working outside of the NHS.

Where the role can lead

With experience, finance staff can become team leaders supervising the work of other staff. They can progress to become managers responsible for a department or area. Some progress to senior roles such as head of finance or finance director.

With a finance qualification, there are opportunities outside the NHS, including overseas.

Job market and vacancies

If you're applying for a role either directly in the NHS or in an organisation that provides NHS services, you'll be asked to show how you think the NHS values apply in your everyday work. Find out more about NHS values

Most NHS trusts advertise their vacancies on NHS Jobs. Some of the current vacancies are below.

Other roles that may interest you

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Finance staff could be: working in the payroll department, making sure all their colleagues get paid handling payments for goods and services in an accounts department purchasing goods and services in the procurement department Senior finance managers could be: setting and managing budgets making decisions on how money is spent tracking and checking budgets to make sure money has been spent correctly The roles Job roles have different titles.

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Come and find out what Primary Care is and the services available local to you

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Meet the Siddique Family and hear their story

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Meet Hazel Plummer  a lady with a learning disabilityand find out how the NHS has impacted on her life and career.

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If you are interested in finding out more about a career in the NHS and see a full list of roles available you may be surprised by the variety available. Whatever your interests or skills set there is probably a job there for you.

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Information for overseas allied health professionals

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Meet the Ahmadi family and find out about some of the health professionals who have been involved in their lives recently.

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Meet Miles Johnson who has recently lost his wife and find out more about the people and services involved with his care.

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The Wilson family mum, dad and two children with another expected. Mrs Wilson has developed diabetes. Meet the family and find out more about the people looking after them.