Innovative care industry workforce specialist Netli is predicting the UK’s post-Covid focus on social care will mean that the business experiences ‘explosive’ growth in the next year – with its services providing the potential to attract 100,000 new jobs in the sector.
The Edinburgh firm believes its suite of bespoke online products can support funding bodies, such as Health Care Social Partnerships (HCSPs) who contract services to care providers, to better use the social care sector to support the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
Netli is now set to launch a proposal to all funding bodies across the UK – as well as consulting with UK and Scottish governments – with aim of securing country-wide support and take-up of it services.
Stephen Wilson, CEO and co-founder, said Netli’s software provides vital workforce data that can ensure the continuous provision of consistent and uninterrupted care in communities across the UK.
Stephen said: “Every person employed through Netli will positively impact the lives of at least three people in need of support. This year we want to help at least 10,000 people into the care sector who in turn will support 30,000 people.
“But if we secure the wide scale UK take-up from local authorities and HCSPs that we are looking for, we could see 100,000 jobs being created.
“I am calling every HCSP and Local Authority across the UK to work with us to meet and exceed these targets, and in doing so, support care providers across the country, as they have supported us in the past year through Covid.”
The company, which rebranded to Netli from its previous name Novacare in preparation for its planned expansion this year, has developed its product offering over the last five years in direct response to the care industry’s demands for bespoke support and solutions.
Its proposal to local authorities and HCSPs offers – for the first time – a solution which actively gathers workforce data from care providers on a local, regional and national levels. This service – delivered
via a real-time dashboard and a detailed monthly report – would allow the identification of current and future workforce planning, spotting staffing gaps and other risks earlier, as well as expert tools to improve the recruitment and retention of employees.
Armed with this bespoke information and tools, each local authority/HCSP can make data-driven decisions to support social care provision in their communities.
Stephen said: “The pandemic has provided a platform to showcase the value and importance of social care – and particularly of social care staff – to our society like never before.
“People – from our politicians down – now see social care, and the need to care for our most vulnerable individuals, differently.
“That should lead to two key developments over the coming year – more funding in social care and better wages for social care staff, which combined will mean a boost for social care job opportunities.
“Added to this, the improved focus on the value of social care should provide a trigger to encourage people in say, retail, hospitality or travel who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic to take up new roles in social care.
“So when the UK opens up post-Covid, social care can be a key sector to support the economic recovery of the nation. And the services Netli has developed puts us in pole position to both support the funding bodies to implement this change – and to be the industry leader to take forward this vision.
“We expect to see a year of explosive growth for Netli in the coming 12 months.”
