The care sector has expressed “strong support” for a proposed new programme to address the recruitment and retention crisis in social care, the need to attract high?calibre talent to the sector, and address leadership skills to instil long?term change from within.

A new feasibility study commissioned by the CareTech Foundation has shown an “overwhelmingly positive” response from across the social care sector to the programme, called Now Care.

The feasibility study, commissioned from Transform Society and produced in association with the University of Edinburgh, provides a powerful case for the proposed new scheme.

The report’s authors say: “The study has demonstrated both the demand for such a new scheme and the appetite of the sector to support its development.  There is real excitement that this proposition can make a signal impact on the social care sector.  We have heard a very clear message from the very many people with whom we have engaged that this is a proposal that the social care sector needs.”

Now Care will follow a similar approach of previously successful Transform Society alliance members schemes such as Teach First and Police Now, which appear in the Top 40 of the Top 100 Graduate Employers, recruit over 3,000 graduates a year and are popular with the UK’s graduates due to their focus on training, development and support.