Care workforce pathway for adult social care
The care workforce pathway outlines the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours people need to work in adult social care.
- From:
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Published
- 10 January 2024
- Last updated
- 9 April 2025 — See all updates
Applies to England
Documents
Details
The care workforce pathway is a new career structure for the adult social care workforce.
This
The ispathway thewas firstlaunched phasein January 2024, covering 4 direct care role categories. Four more role categories were added in April 2025.
The 8 role categories are now:
- new to care
- care or support worker
- enhanced care worker
- personal assistant
- supervisor or leader
- practice leader
- deputy manager
- registered manager
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) developed the pathway,pathway focusingin onpartnership directwith:
- Skills for Care (SfC)
- representatives from the adult social care
rolesworkforce
- people
atwho 4draw levels.on care and support
The pathway has been informed by responses to the call for evidence, which ran for 8 weeks in April and May 2023.
TheDHSC, Departmentin ofpartnership Healthwith SfC, andis Socialcommitted Careto developedcontinue to build on the pathwayprogress inwe partnershiphave withmade. SkillsWe forwant Care,to representativesensure fromwe themeet adultour socialambition careto workforce,develop anda peoplecomprehensive, whouniversal drawcareer onstructure carefor andadult support.social care.
Updates to this page
Published 10 January 2024
Last updated 9 April 2025
href="#full-history">+ show all updates
-
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
-
First published.
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2026-07-16 14:30
Added 10 new role categories: ‘Activity co-ordinator’; ‘Care technologist’; ‘Nominated individual’; ‘Corporate management’; ‘Learning and development practitioner’; ‘Quality assurance lead’; ‘Administration’; ‘Catering’; ‘Domestic’; and ‘Maintenance’; and amended the ‘Overview’ to add information about the adult social care workforce transformation, neighbourhood health and links with the government’s skills strategy, and to update the information on ‘next steps’.
2025-11-12 10:52
Amended ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories to note that the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is now expected to be published in 2026.
2025-05-23 13:02
Updated the ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories (in ‘The behaviours people must show’ section) to say: the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is expected to be published later in 2025.
2025-05-14 12:35
Added a link to the easy read version of the care workforce pathway.
2025-04-09 13:42
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
2024-01-10 17:29
First published.
Details
The care workforce pathway is a new career structure for the adult social care workforce.
This
The ispathway thewas firstlaunched phasein January 2024, covering 4 direct care role categories. Four more role categories were added in April 2025.
The 8 role categories are now:
- new to care
- care or support worker
- enhanced care worker
- personal assistant
- supervisor or leader
- practice leader
- deputy manager
- registered manager
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) developed the pathway,pathway focusingin onpartnership directwith:
- Skills for Care (SfC)
- representatives from the adult social care
rolesworkforce
- people
atwho 4draw levels.on care and support
The pathway has been informed by responses to the call for evidence, which ran for 8 weeks in April and May 2023.
TheDHSC, Departmentin ofpartnership Healthwith SfC, andis Socialcommitted Careto developedcontinue to build on the pathwayprogress inwe partnershiphave withmade. SkillsWe forwant Care,to representativesensure fromwe themeet adultour socialambition careto workforce,develop anda peoplecomprehensive, whouniversal drawcareer onstructure carefor andadult support.social care.
Updates to this page
Published 10 January 2024
Last updated 9 April 2025
href="#full-history">+ show all updates
-
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
-
First published.
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2026-07-16 14:30
Added 10 new role categories: ‘Activity co-ordinator’; ‘Care technologist’; ‘Nominated individual’; ‘Corporate management’; ‘Learning and development practitioner’; ‘Quality assurance lead’; ‘Administration’; ‘Catering’; ‘Domestic’; and ‘Maintenance’; and amended the ‘Overview’ to add information about the adult social care workforce transformation, neighbourhood health and links with the government’s skills strategy, and to update the information on ‘next steps’.
2025-11-12 10:52
Amended ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories to note that the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is now expected to be published in 2026.
2025-05-23 13:02
Updated the ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories (in ‘The behaviours people must show’ section) to say: the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is expected to be published later in 2025.
2025-05-14 12:35
Added a link to the easy read version of the care workforce pathway.
2025-04-09 13:42
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
2024-01-10 17:29
First published.
Details
The care workforce pathway is a new career structure for the adult social care workforce.
This
The ispathway thewas firstlaunched phasein January 2024, covering 4 direct care role categories. Four more role categories were added in April 2025.
The 8 role categories are now:
- new to care
- care or support worker
- enhanced care worker
- personal assistant
- supervisor or leader
- practice leader
- deputy manager
- registered manager
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) developed the pathway,pathway focusingin onpartnership directwith:
- Skills for Care (SfC)
- representatives from the adult social care
rolesworkforce - people
atwho4drawlevels.on care and support
The pathway has been informed by responses to the call for evidence, which ran for 8 weeks in April and May 2023.
TheDHSC, Departmentin ofpartnership Healthwith SfC, andis Socialcommitted Careto developedcontinue to build on the pathwayprogress inwe partnershiphave withmade. SkillsWe forwant Care,to representativesensure fromwe themeet adultour socialambition careto workforce,develop anda peoplecomprehensive, whouniversal drawcareer onstructure carefor andadult support.social care.
Updates to this page
-
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
-
First published.
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2026-07-16 14:30
Added 10 new role categories: ‘Activity co-ordinator’; ‘Care technologist’; ‘Nominated individual’; ‘Corporate management’; ‘Learning and development practitioner’; ‘Quality assurance lead’; ‘Administration’; ‘Catering’; ‘Domestic’; and ‘Maintenance’; and amended the ‘Overview’ to add information about the adult social care workforce transformation, neighbourhood health and links with the government’s skills strategy, and to update the information on ‘next steps’.
2025-11-12 10:52
Amended ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories to note that the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is now expected to be published in 2026.
2025-05-23 13:02
Updated the ‘deputy manager’ and ‘registered manager’ role categories (in ‘The behaviours people must show’ section) to say: the Management and Leadership Code for Health and Social Care (draft version) is expected to be published later in 2025.
2025-05-14 12:35
Added a link to the easy read version of the care workforce pathway.
2025-04-09 13:42
Added 4 new role categories to the pathway: enhanced care worker, personal assistant, deputy manager and registered manager. Updated the overview document to reflect the development of the pathway.
2024-01-10 17:29
First published.