Leads: Nigel Taylor and Dr Nicky Westwood

Purpose of the Forum

The UVAC Social Care Industry Forum will act as a national platform bringing together Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Independent Training Providers (ITPs), Further Education providers, social care employers, sector bodies, and regulatory organisations. Its purpose is to strengthen the development, recognition, and delivery of high‑level skills across Adult Social Care (ASC). The forum will provide strategic leadership, a trusted community of practice, and sector‑wide collaboration that elevates professional pathways, enhances workforce capability, and ensures education and training reflect the evolving needs and realities of Adult Social Care provision.

It will also offer a safe space for practitioners to openly explore delivery challenges unique to Adult Social Care and co‑create practical, evidence‑based solutions.

Core Objectives

Strengthen Engagement Between HEIs, Training Providers, and Social Care Employers

• Create structured and regular channels for dialogue between universities, providers, and ASC employers to ensure higher‑level qualifications and work‑based learning pathways meet workforce needs
• Support co‑design of programmes, modules, placements, and progression routes that reflect contemporary social care practice
• Actively integrate employer, sector body, and regulatory insights to ensure apprenticeship delivery reflects real work pressures and operational realities
• Facilitate knowledge exchange on recruitment challenges, professional standards, quality, and future workforce skills

Promote and Develop High-Level Skills in Adult Social Care

• Champion the importance of Level 4–7 skills in leadership, coaching, supervision, digital capability, advanced practice, and complex care planning
• Promote consistent national messaging around professionalisation and structured career progression
• Map and promote clear educational and professional progression pathways linked to long-term workforce career routes
• Identify skills gaps and collaborate to develop new qualifications, micro‑credentials, flexible learning models, and integrated workforce
• Highlight and strengthen higher and degree apprenticeships as key to building a sustainable ASC workforce

Aligns with WorldSkills Competition and Excellence Models

• Explore how WorldSkills UK methodologies can enhance training quality and raise professional expectations in ASC
• Assess opportunities to embed competition‑based learning into curriculum design, assessment, and applied skills development
• Develop proposals for ASC‑themed skills challenges or future competition categories

Strengthen Alignment with Skills for Care

• A stronger, more connected ecosystem linking universities, training providers, and employers
• Greater consistency, visibility, and quality of high‑level ASC skills nationwide
• Increased employer engagement in higher‑level apprenticeships and programmes
• Improved progression routes into leadership, management, and advanced roles
• Clearer alignment between academic learning, professional standards, and frontline realities
• Shared pedagogy supporting diverse learners
• Stronger interpretation of regulatory requirements through an ASC lens
• Greater visibility of research, innovation, and impact

Next Steps

• Establish founding membership and confirm governance
• Convene the inaugural meeting to refine priorities and set a 12‑month plan
• Create working groups: HEI–Employer Engagement, High‑Level Skills, WorldSkills Alignment, and Skills for Care Integration
• Develop a communications and stakeholder plan
• Launch the forum nationally with a clear identity, mission, and deliverables