Qualification and standards updates for managers and employers

We work with awarding bodies (City & Guilds and WJEC) and Qualifications Wales to address qualification challenges related to health and social care qualifications and standards.

We want to make sure the workforce is competent, safe and professionalised, and qualifications play a huge part in this. But, you consistently tell us that some process and assessment requirements are adding pressure to the sector.

We want the process and assessment of qualifications to be manageable for the workforce, and straightforward to access and complete, so we’re pleased to tell you that we’ve made significant progress towards resolving these challenges.

1. What you told us:

Qualification requirements for registration cause issues for some parts of the workforce, for example the lack of apprenticeship places available for the City & Guilds Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications are making it difficult for some in the workforce to meet registration requirements.

What we’ve done:

We’ve consulted with learning providers about the limited number of places available for the City & Guilds Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications. They’ve told us that some workers are enrolling on the programme but not committing to their qualification because of the extended registration renewal period. This is then affecting the number of places they’re able to offer.

Social care workers now have up to six years to complete the qualification needed to renew their registration with Social Care Wales. But, learning providers who offer the qualification as part of an apprenticeship framework, will typically allow 12 months for a Level 2 qualification and 18 months for a Level 3 qualification. This is because they need to meet their contract requirements.

If workers don’t commit to or complete their qualification within the contract requirements, there’s a risk that learning providers might remove them. and give their place to someone else. This may also affect their chance to access apprenticeship funding in the future.

We would urge you, as managers, to encourage your workers to complete their qualifications within the apprenticeship timeframe.

You can find out more by contacting your learning provider and assessor.

What else is happening?

1. What you told us:

Learning providers don’t always use the All Wales induction framework (AWIF) evidence in the Core qualification, so there’s duplication of learning, and service and cost implications for managers.

What we’ve done:

The AWIF mirrors the Core qualification. Learning providers are encouraged to recognise prior learning linked to the Core and should consider any AWIF evidence the learner has. But, it should also be recognised that the AWIF is the start of a learning journey, and expectations about an individual’s knowledge, skills and understanding should reflect their experience and where they are in that journey.

The initial meeting between the manager, learning provider and learner is important to make sure any previous learning is identified and recognised within the assessment process.

We’re continuing to hold monthly sessions to raise awareness of the links between the AWIF and the Core qualification. The AWIF is still our induction programme, recognised in the Welsh Government Statutory Guidance for service providers and Responsible Individuals.

2. What you told us:

The Essential Skills Wales (ESW) requirements of the Apprenticeship framework puts added pressure on learners. Feedback suggests that leaners struggle with ESW Application of Number and Communication because the learning isn’t relevant to health and social care or early years and childcare. Some employers have withdrawn their staff from qualification programmes because staff struggled to study and complete the essential skills.

What we’ve done:

We’ve reviewed the ESW teaching and learning resources and developed new ones for Health and Social Care and Children’s Care Play Learning and Development.

The new resources are more relevant to people working in health and social care, so we hope this will reduce some of the learners’ anxiety around essential skills.

The new resources will be available in late spring 2025.

3. What you told us:

The assessments and academic requirements for the current Level 4 and 5 qualifications can be challenging for staff. Some employers and learners still don’t fully understand the demands and the higher level academic expectations of these awards.

What we’ve done:

We’ve been working with awarding bodies and learning providers to better understand the issues faced by learners studying the current Level 4 and 5 qualifications. We’re pleased to see a steady increase in learners successfully completing the awards. But, some parts of the assessment strategy are still causing concern.

We’ve continued to work with the awarding body (City & Guilds) and learning providers to find appropriate solutions. City & Guilds has developed candidate packs for each of the Level 4 qualifications, which includes the assessment approach, task requirements and the marking and pass criteria. The packs are available on the Health Care Learning Wales website, under the two level 4 qualifications - Level 4 Preparing for Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care and Level 4 Professional Practice in Health and Social Care. Select the ‘key documents and course materials’ tab – scroll down and select 'view all key documents'.

City & Guilds has also reviewed its guidance around the duration of some of the assessment tasks within our Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications.

A standardised approach to this part of the assessment process is fairer for candidates.

Since January 2024, we’ve been running Level 4/5 employer engagement sessions to promote awareness and understanding. We’ll continue to do this throughout 2025, so look out for those dates.

4. What you told us:

Learning providers and colleges are advising employers that carers employed as visa and sponsorship employees aren’t entitled to the apprenticeship funding option for their qualifications. The only option open to them is for the company to pay for the qualifications themselves.

What we’ve done:

As the social care workforce regulator, we work with the Qualifications Wales, awarding bodies and learning providers to make sure qualifications meet the needs of the sector. But, qualification funding isn’t part of our remit.

Medr, a Welsh Government arm’s-length body, is responsible for funding learning providers in Wales, and it sets the rules and eligibility requirements learning providers must comply with.

Medr has advised that you should contact an apprenticeship learning provider to get specific advice about an employee’s eligibility. The Welsh Government’s apprenticeship page lists the 10 main providers of apprenticeships in Wales. Not all offer social care qualifications, and not all deliver in all areas across Wales.

To find a centre in your area, you can also look at the Health and Care Learning Wales page, which is the City & Guilds and WJEC consortium qualifications website for Wales. Select the qualification you need, such as Level 2 Health and Social Care: Practice (Adults), click on ‘Find a centre’ and input your postcode, town or city and you’ll see a list of centres in that area registered with City & Guilds that deliver the qualification.

As well as meeting the eligibility requirements for apprenticeships, you’ll need to carry out right to work in the UK checks for all of your employees, regardless of whether or not they’re apprentices. The UK Government website has information about employers’ right to work checks.

5. What you told us:

There are several UK and international qualifications that you feel are equivalent to the qualifications listed on the qualification framework as accepted for registration with us, but we don’t accept them.

What we’ve done:

We’ve developed a qualification equivalency assessment (QEA) process to assess the qualifications of people who’d like to work in Wales but hold qualifications that aren’t specified in our qualification framework as recommended or required for practice and/or registration.

We’ve designed the process so there’s a robust, consistent, transparent and fair process in place to review applications individually.

We check each qualification equivalency application by looking at:

• competency: to work out whether competency has been assessed
• content: to make sure the relevant Welsh qualification requirements have been met
• level and credit value: to make sure the qualification is in line with the level and size of current accepted Welsh qualifications.

Visit the QEA webpage for more information.

6. What you told us:

You’d like to access information about the All Wales induction framework (AWIF), employer assessment route, and the Core and Practice qualifications at a time when it’s most convenient for you.

What we’ve done:

We’ve developed webinars about the AWIF and employer assessment route, the Core qualification, and the Level 2 and Level 3 practice qualifications. We’ve also set-up drop-in sessions to answer any questions you may have after watching the webinars. These will be available from spring 2025.

7. What you told us:

You told us that new workers joining the sector with the Level 3 Principles and Context qualification must still complete Level 2 Core and Level 2 or 3 Practice qualifications.

What we’ve done:

Level 3 Principles and Context is a full-time knowledge only college course. We’ve started to map the Level 3 Principles and Context qualification content to see if it meets the Level 2 Core learning outcomes, which may reduce the duplication of learning.

What’s next?

We’re continuing to respond to your feedback about qualifications, and we’re monitoring the impact of any changes so we’ll update you about these as we go along.

We’ll keep in touch to tell you about our work with the awarding bodies, Qualifications Wales and other stakeholders. We’ll let you know how we’re working together to make sure qualifications are manageable for the workforce and straightforward to access and complete.

We’d also like to hear your good news stories or examples of best practice so we can share these with colleagues across the sector. Or, you can let us know if there are issues we should continue to work on with our Consortium partners.

Please contact us at qualsandstandards@socialcare.wales.

Find out more about health and social care qualifications on the Health and Care Learning Wales website.

If you have a question or if you can't find what you're looking for get in touch with us.