Working in social services and healthcare in Scotland

Social services and healthcare | Careers in care | SSSC

Working together to make a difference

If you’re compassionate, have a sense of fun and enjoy working with people you could be perfect for a career in social services and healthcare. There are many types of services across the community like care homes, care at home and housing support services. Most roles will involve supporting adults but you can support younger people too.

This work is about helping people to live well and achieve the things in life that really matter to them. You’ll go home each day knowing you made a difference.

3 social care workers at ROyston Court Care Home.

My best words of advice are there is no need to worry about training as you’re given all the training you will need. Go into it with an open mind and never look back.

Blair Social care assistant

What’s it really like to work in social services? Find out below in our career stories.

A childcare centre’s garden. An early years practitioner is engaging with three young children in winter clothing.

Care Homes

Care homes are communities where people live and people work. Staff work closely with people they care for and get to know them well. They often say they feel like they are family.

Care home workers work within multi-disciplinary teams and with families to support people with all aspects of daily life and do this is a way which promotes compassion, wellbeing, choice and quality of life.

There are around 1,000 care homes in Scotland. Many are dedicated to supporting older people and some support adults of all ages.

Click on a role to show more information about what you would do. You will also see inspiring career stories from real professionals in care homes.

Support Worker

A support worker’s role is to provide person-centred care and support.

They use their values, knowledge and skills to develop relationships and work with people to support them;

  • - wash, dress and get ready for the day ahead
  • - communicate their wishes or concerns
  • - stay connected to family and friends
  • - lead an interesting, fulfilling and healthy life.

Support workers follow agreed care plans. They share their knowledge about the person to help their senior colleagues keep everyone’s care plan up to date. Support workers demonstrate respect for individual rights, such as the right everyone living in the care home has to be in control of their own life.

They register with the SSSC as a support worker in a care home service.

The minimum qualification requirement is SVQ or Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF level 6 which is gained while working. There are college and university courses too.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

Practitioner

Practitioners carry out similar tasks to support workers but have extra responsibilities too.

They use their values, knowledge and skills to:

  • - help assess what kind of care people will need
  • - share information appropriately with other health and care professionals
  • - monitor health, safety and security in the home.

Practitioners need to create and maintain care plans in partnership with the people living in the care home and their families. They may take part in training to learn some healthcare tasks, like administering medication.

They register with the SSSC as a practitioner in a care home service.

The minimum qualification requirement is SVQ or Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF level 7, which is gained while working. There are college and university courses at this level too.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

A female childminder draws for two young children in her living room.

Supervisor

Supervisors are leaders in the care home, they guide and support other staff to provide the best care possible by:

  • - making sure all care plans are created in a person-centred way and reviewed regularly
  • - promoting quality of care and identify improvements
  • - helping staff stay up to date with policies, training courses and other learning opportunities.

Supervisors may also provide direct care and support. They usually have previous experience as a support worker or practitioner.

They register with the SSSC as a supervisor in a care home service. Some supervisors, like those qualified as nurses, will be registered with a different regulatory body.

The minimum SSSC qualification requirement is the same as a care home practitioner plus a supervisory award, like a PDA Health and Social Care Supervision at SCQF level 7. Some supervisors complete the SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF level 9 which meets full requirements and can support progression to a management role.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

Manager

Managers have overall responsibility for how care and support is delivered in the care home. They also take the lead supporting all staff and making sure they get the right training to do their roles well.

They use their knowledge and skills to meet specific managerial responsibilities like:

  • - managing budgets
  • - contributing to the development of policies and procedures
  • - preparing for inspections.

Managers are often the first point of contact for families, new employees and agencies like the NHS and social work services. They need to be friendly, approachable and professional.

They register with the SSSC as a manager in a care home service.

The minimum SSSC qualification requirement is an SVQ at SCQF level 9 or a social work, nursing or other suitable university degree plus a qualification for leading and managing care (which can be gained while working).

Some managers, like those qualified as nurses, will be registered with other regulatory bodies.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

A female childminder draws for two young children in her living room.

Nurse

Many care homes in Scotland provide care from qualified nurses. Over their career, care home nurses develop enhanced knowledge about the daily management of complex health conditions. They work together with social care colleagues to provide high quality, relationship based care which promotes wellbeing and protects people from pain and discomfort.

Nurses use their knowledge and skills to lead clinical care, by:

  • - managing a person’s healthcare plan
  • - educating others about healthcare practice, including infection prevention and control and the administration of medication
  • - developing relationships with pharmacists, doctors and healthcare agencies.

Care from qualified nurses can make a big difference to quality of life in different circumstances. People can be supported to maintain independence, improve fitness or manage pain or illness. Care home nurses care for people at the end of their life and support them to die with dignity and comfort.

You can learn more about this career on the NHS careers website https://www.careers.nhs.scot/careers/explore-our-careers/nursing/adult-nurse/

Nursing is also recognised in our qualification pathways in the university courses at SCQF level 10.

A childcare centre’s garden. An early years practitioner is engaging with three young children in winter clothing.

Care at home and housing support

Care at home and housing support provides kind, compassionate and trusted care, and support to enable people to live independently in the comfort of their own homes.

Staff work closely with people in all aspects of daily life and get to know them well. They promote wellbeing, choice and quality of life and help people regain their independence and reduce the risk of going into hospital.

Click on a role to show more information about what you would do. You’ll also be shown inspiring career stories from real professionals in care at home and housing support. 

Support Worker

A support worker’s role is to provide person-centred care and support.

They use a range of knowledge and skills to help people to:

  • - wash, dress, prepare meals and get ready for the day ahead
  • - communicate their wishes or concerns
  • - stay connected to family and friends
  • - lead an interesting, fulfilling and healthy life.

Support workers follow agreed care plans. They share their knowledge about the person to help their senior colleagues keep everyone’s care plan up to date.

Support workers demonstrate respect for individual rights, such as the right everyone has to be in control of their own life.

They register with the SSSC as a support worker in a care at home or housing support service.

The minimum qualification requirement is SVQ or Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF level 6 which is gained while working. There are college and university courses too.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

Supervisor / co-ordinator

Supervisors are responsible for guiding their colleagues. They are leaders who co-ordinate and help other staff to provide the best care and support possible.

They use their knowledge and skills to:

  • - make sure all care plans are created in a person-centred way and reviewed regularly
  • - promote quality of care and identify improvements
  • - help staff stay up to date with policies, training courses and other learning opportunities.

Supervisors or care at home co-ordinators may also provide direct care and support. They usually have previous experience as a support worker or practitioner.

They register with the SSSC as a supervisor in a care at home / gousing service. Some supervisors, like those qualified as nurses, will be registered with a different regulatory body.

The minimum SSSC qualification requirement is an SVQ or Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF level 7 plus a supervisory award, like a PDA Health and Social Care Supervision at SCQF level 7.

Some supervisors complete the SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF level 9 which meets full requirements and can support progression to a management role.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

A female childminder draws for two young children in her living room.

Manager

Managers have overall responsibility for how care and support is delivered in the care at home / housing support service. They also take the lead supporting all staff and making sure they get the right training to do their roles well.

They use their knowledge and skills to meet specific managerial responsibilities like:

  • - managing budgets
  • - contributing to the development of policies and procedures
  • - preparing for inspections.

Managers are often the first point of contact for families, new employees and agencies like the NHS and social work services. They need to be friendly, approachable and professional.

They register with the SSSC as a manager in a care at home / housing support service.

The minimum SSSC qualification requirement is an SVQ at SCQF level 9 or a social work, nursing or other suitable university degree plus a qualification for leading and managing care (which can be gained while working).

Some managers, like those qualified as nurses, will be registered with other regulatory bodies.

Explore the social care qualification pathways or scroll down to Next steps to get started.

A childcare centre’s garden. An early years practitioner is engaging with three young children in winter clothing.

More Careers

There are plenty of other people working to support high quality experiences for adults and children. Take a look at the other stories here for more career inspiration.

Personal assistant (PA)

Becoming a personal assistant (PA) means taking on a unique role where you assist someone to live the life that they choose.

PAs are employed by a wide variety of people including older people, disabled people, people with mental health problems, people with learning disabilities and parents or carers of children. All will have been assessed as needing assistance to enable them to achieve life outcomes.

There are no formal training requirements for entry and employed PAs have the same rights, responsibilities and benefits of any other employee. The relationship between employer and employee is valued highly and often a PA brings their own experience to the role which can be valued by the employer.

It is such a varied role, distinct to every employer, key skills tend to be around communication and flexibility

Find out more about becoming a personal assistant from the PA Handbook

Care Inspector

The role of care inspectors working for the Care Inspectorate is to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. Care inspectors manage their own workload and lead on actions for the registered care services they work with such as:

  • - Gathering and assessing intelligence, planning and carrying out scrutiny activities.
  • - Providing feedback to people experiencing care and service providers on the findings of scrutiny activities.
  • - Signposting good practice and providing professional advice to support continuous improvement and innovation.

Care inspectors work with a wide range of people and build effective networks with partners.

Adult inspectors work in inspection, complaints or registration teams, with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors

Lecturer and SVQ assessor

SVQ assessors help and assess people who are working towards Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).

They have to meet the occupational competence requirements of the qualification that they are assessing and they will work for a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) assessment centre.

Lecturers in social care produce learning, teaching and assessment materials, and deliver teaching within the specialist subject area of health and social care.

They also develop new approaches to teaching, making use of learning technologies.

To find out where your career might take you, explore our interactive qualification pathways.

Qualification pathways

You don’t usually need a qualification to start this career but you’ll have an opportunity to gain one in work. If you want to progress into promoted posts there are qualifications to help you do this.

Explore our interactive pathways to see how qualifications can help you build a career.

go to the qualification pathways

Cathy from Royston Court Care Home.

Tender loving care, that's all we need. And they're all very good to us here. Just like our own family.

Cathy Royston Court Care Home

Interested in a career in social services and healthcare?

Take your first steps

Explore these routes to get help taking your first steps. In each category you’ll find links to websites to apply for work experience, jobs, training or study.

Take your first steps

MyLearning website

Learning about social services is a good way to show your committment to employers.

If you want to store your learning and share it with others, including new employers, try using MyLearning. It's a free, smartphone-based app provided by the SSSC.

MyLearning is also used by social service workers to record continuous professional learning.

MyLearning website

A learning website mockop on desktop and mobile

Partners