CARE Webinar – Holding on: Recruitment and Retention in Adult Social Care
- Tuesday 17 November 2026
- 12:00 - 13:30
- Audience: Open to the public, staff and students
- Booking: This event is free
In Wales, and throughout the UK, workforce retention has been identified as one of the most significant challenges facing social care. Retention and recruitment are closely connected as it becomes harder to recruit new workers if people are choosing not to stay.
Speakers
Dr Katy Huxley
Research Fellow, Cardiff University
Dr Mark Wilberforce
Associate Professor of Social Care at the University of Birmingham
Dr Richard Gater
Research Associate, CARE
Professor Paul Willis
CARE Centre Director
Join us as we present and discuss some of the latest research on the social care workforce and why workers are choosing to join the sector, why they stay and why they leave. In this seminar we spotlight values-based recruitment and the experiences of young people working in social care.
Key Highlights:
- Introduction by Professor Paul Willis, CARE Director
- Should I stay or should I go? Workers’ commitment to social care in Wales: Dr Katy Huxley will introduce findings from the Have Your Say 2026 social care workers survey, focusing on issues around recruitment and retention in social care work.
- Curious about Care? Making values-based recruitment a reality in homecare: Dr Mark Wilberforce will summarise the development and evaluation to date and provides more information on how to access the free resource.
- “I didn't really know what I wanted to do”: Exploring Young People's Experiences of Working in Social Care in Wales: Dr Richard Gater will report findings from the Have Your Say 2026 qualitative study, which explored the experiences of fifteen direct care workers aged 30 and under working in social care in Wales.
Speaker Spotlight:
- Dr Katy Huxley is a Research Fellow in the Social Science Research Park (SPARK) at Cardiff University with interests in education, workforce experiences, governance and social inequalities.
- Dr Mark Wilberforce is an Associate Professor of Social Care at the University of Birmingham with a special interest in workforce research.
- Dr Richard Gater is a Research Associate at the Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE) at Cardiff University, with academic interests in masculinities, gender, education, employment, social class, and health and well-being.
- Professor Paul Willis is a professor of adult social care, a registered social care worker and the Director of the Centre for Adult Social Care Research.
