Skills for Care National Conference

On Thursday 12th March Cohesion attended the Skills for Care National Conference and Accolades. Passionate about the progression of the sector, Cohesion exhibited at the conference, sponsored the accolades and presented the award for best recruitment initiative.

Here’s what one of our social care specialists, Tanzina Begum, had to say about the event:

The Skills for Care annual conference– what an experience and what a turn out! As exhibitors ourselves, we knew it was going to be a busy day and we were ready to get stuck in to what promised to be an exciting and insightful event.

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Having met with a number of social care organisations earlier in the year at Cohesion’s round table event, we were looking forward to meeting acquaintances- old and new, and learning more about the sector. The conference looked great and was packed with delegates- each one clearly passionate about Social Care.

It was great to have the opportunity to exhibit at the event and showcase how we are supporting the growth and future success of the sector. As a business we are an active contributor to the industry and we love to share our knowledge of recruitment best practice!

The event also boasted some great guest speakers- the team and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in! Norman Lamb, Minister of State for Care and Support gave an inspirational account of the pressures on the sector. He said “we need to motivate, respect, value, properly train and fairly reward the workforce.”

Cohesion is always promoting a better and fairer environment for workers and we understand the importance of celebrating the great achievements and successes of those in the industry- it was great to hear these thoughts echoed by an MP.

We also heard from a panel asking the question “Is Social Care well-led?” a timely and interesting question when considering the future of the sector. This was an eye-opening and positive discussion- anyone in the sector is all too aware of the challenges ahead and it is appropriate to consider the benefits of a knowledgeable and well-led workforce.

The workshops we attended were great and have inspired us to look into organising our own events in order to promote the progression of Social Care and share our thoughts with others in the sector. Our expertise lies in recruitment and retention and it was great to engage in conversation with like-minded individuals who are keen to put a greater focus on reaching, engaging and retaining the right people.

In the final stages of the conference, many of us were asking the question- “with the general election around the corner, are the priorities within Social Care going to change?” This is something that seems to be on everyone’s mind- an interesting and poignant point for everyone to consider.

As the conference came to an end we were extremely excited for the accolades to begin and for our Director of Social Care, Mandy Glover to present the award for ‘Best Recruitment Initiative.’ Mandy said “This was a very humbling and insightful event- one which was enjoyed by everyone at Cohesion. I was honoured to present Leeds City Council with an award that was greatly deserved.”

As a proud sponsor of the Skills for Care accolades, this was an amazing experience and gave some great insight to the changes and challenges within Social Care. Cohesion is definitely ready to help the sector overcome its challenges, make a name for itself and celebrate its successes.