There’s a reason why politicians like Yvette Cooper – and many in the general public – still (wrongly) label care work as “low skilled.” It’s time we addressed it.
What People Get Wrong About Care
The term “low skilled” doesn’t just describe the amount of training needed for a role – it’s often used to describe how easily that role could be performed by ‘anyone’ with basic instruction. It’s the reason stacking shelves or flipping burgers ends up in the same category. Once you’re shown the steps, most people could do it.
And that’s exactly the trap people fall into when it comes to care work.
If all you think care is, is assisting with meals, personal care, and medication – then yes, in theory, many people could be trained to do that. But care is not a checklist. It’s not a series of tasks. And it’s certainly not low skilled.
Care involves working with people – all day, every day. Not just for five minutes at a till or a table, but for hours at a time, with some of the most vulnerable, complex, and high-needs individuals in society. This work requires emotional intelligence, patience, clinical awareness, de-escalation skills, organisation, communication, empathy, and a level of resilience that most professions will never understand.
A Dangerous Assumption – And a Damaging Policy
The government’s decision to scrap the care visa route, announced by Keir Starmer and supported by key Labour figures, is based on the false assumption that care roles are “low skilled” and that we’ll simply replace overseas staff with people from the UK. Let me be clear: we won’t.
There’s this old-fashioned idea that there’s a queue of workers outside the door waiting to jump into care roles. That queue? It doesn’t exist.
- Nearly 50% of under-25s go to university.
- The welfare state (rightly) ensures people aren’t forced into work they’re unsuited for.
- The reality is: not everyone can – or wants to – do care work.
This is not about unwillingness. It’s about recognising that care requires a specific set of skills, values and stamina that not everyone possesses. And yet, politicians seem to believe that shutting down international recruitment will suddenly solve our workforce crisis. It won’t. We recruit overseas because we have no other choice.
The Real Consequences
The UK care sector is already short over 130,000 workers (source: Homecare Association). That’s not a shortfall you can fix with slogans. Between 2021 and 2024, international care workers kept services afloat. Without them, we will see:
- More understaffed shifts.
- More stress on existing teams.
- More burnout and turnover.
- And most devastatingly – lower quality care for those who need it most.
CQC ratings will drop. Capacity will drop. Safety risks will rise. And the tragedy? This was entirely avoidable.
This Isn’t About Politics – It’s About People
I’m not interested in partisan arguments. I care about what happens in the homes, the hospitals, the supported living services, and to the people who rely on them. Our sector deserves policy that is:
- Informed by real-life evidence.
- Guided by compassion.
- Built on a respect for the actual skills care work demands.
If the government wants to reduce reliance on overseas staff, it must first tackle the root issues: low pay, poor conditions, lack of training pathways, and absence of professional recognition.
Until then, removing a lifeline like the care visa is reckless at best – and destructive at worst.
What Now?
If you’re reading this as a care provider, manager, or someone who works on the frontline – we see you. We stand with you.
Keep telling your stories. Keep showing the world the skill it takes to care.
And to those making decisions: listen to the sector. We’re not being dramatic. We’re telling you what’s coming.