Care England has welcomed the inaugural International Day of Care and Support which took place yesterday.

The global event raises awareness of the need to invest in the care economy, to recognise the workforce and to create a robust and resilient sector.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “Care workers play an invaluable role to those they support, their families and friends, and the wider economy. The International Day of Care and Support brings visibility to this. But we know that it’s not just recognition the sector needs – it’s action. To sufficiently recognise the contribution the social care sector plays to the economy, Care England has called for a fully-funded long-term workforce plan, bringing parity of esteem across health and care, and professionalising the sector.

“Care England has also welcomed the Skills for Care commitment to develop a new comprehensive workforce strategy for adult social care. This is not only required to address the current issues, including the 152,000 vacancies, but to future-proof the sector.”

The global care workforce comprises 249 million women and 132 million men, according to the International Labour Organization.

By 2030, the number of care recipients is predicted to reach 2.3 billion, driven by an additional 0.1 billion older persons and an additional 0.1 billion children aged 6 to 14 years.

Women perform 76% of the total amount of unpaid care work, three times more time than men.