Home care provider Cera is investing more than £5 million in the launch of its Academy Career Pathway programme.

The pathway gives people with no care experience the opportunity to become healthcare professionals, while also offering all Cera employees the opportunity to become an operations director, through a degree apprenticeship.

During a pilot phase, 245 Cera employees enrolled on the programme choosing from up to 50 different training options, These range from Level 2 to 5 care qualifications, skills to support complex or learning disability care, and supervisory or management positions.

Cera, which has committed to hiring and training 40,000 new carers in the next four years, is endorsed as a training provider by workforce body Skills for Care.

Dr Ben Maruthappu, Cera founder and chief executive, said: “In the NHS and social care, turnover rates for staff have always been notoriously high, and a huge driver of this is a lack of a clear progression. When employees see limited opportunities for skill development and growth, they may become disengaged and lose motivation.”

He added: “By offering our employees new learning and development opportunities, we are illustrating our commitment to enhancing the quality of social care and offering rewarding careers. The domestic healthcare industry is fuelled by intelligent and driven carers, who deserve new incentives to foster professional growth and overall job satisfaction.”

In January the government announced the launch of a care workforce pathway, a national career structure for the adult social care workforce.