Adult Social Care - Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS)

The ASC-WDS is a data recording system developed by Skills for Care to provide a profile of the social care workforce. This acts as a primary data source on workforce issues.

The Adult Social Care workforce is large and diverse and includes anyone who supports Doncaster citizens with their care and support needs. There are both paid and unpaid people working in a variety of roles. A significant number of people work in the private and voluntary sectors with the majority working in small organisations.

The ASC-WDS is the leading source of workforce intelligence and in the form of an online database, available on the Skills for Care website. It currently holds information for around 25,000 establishments and 70,000 workers across England. To visit the ASC-WDS please click here.

The ASC-WDS provides a single source of basic information about services and workers that will enable employers to plan their business activity and determine the skills needed by the workforce now and in the future. The ASC-WDS will provide reports for employers that will enable informed business decisions, planning at a strategic level, guidance for workforce commissioning and enabling employers to access different staff development or business development funding.

For Commissioners, the ASC-WDS provides information about services, capacity and workforce skills. For contracting officers, it provides up to date workforce information to support contracting and reviewing processes linked to the Care Quality Commission’s guidance document, Essential Standards of Quality and Safety.

Summary of the challenges

• Meeting the challenges raised in national strategy and workforce guidance and standards
• The need for a sufficient, skilled and qualified workforce to meet the increasing demands and diverse, complex needs of the growing population while increasing service user choice and control
• Attracting a diverse workforce, increasing the number of young, male and BME workers to the sector
• Improving retention rates in the sector
• Improving the qualification achievement levels of staff
• Supporting the entire workforce through the changes required to transform services
• Increasing engagement of ASC-WDS
• Supporting carers and engaging them in development and training opportunities

Doncaster-Summary-2020

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