Where to go from the Care Certificate

Care Certificate: regulated qualifications and progression

The Care Certificate, co-authored by Skills for Health, Skills for Care and NHS England, is the essential foundation for anyone entering the social care workforce.

The Care Certificate standards ensure new employees begin their career with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours they need to deliver safe, person-centred care. As architects of the standards, we’re proud to provide industry-leading eLearning that gives organisations confidence in the training their employees receive.

In March 2025, the Care Certificate transitioned from an employer-led framework to a regulated qualification, formalising recognition of the vital skills care staff develop from day one. Recognising training and development through structured qualifications provides a number of benefits for organisations:

• Better retention and employee satisfaction through clear progression routes
• Improved confidence and capability through continuous learning and development
• Higher quality and safer care across the sector.

Effective workforce development builds on these foundations, with clear career pathways supported by industry standards and qualifications like the Care Certificate, from Level 2 through Level 5. Our new sister organisation, iCQ Awards, form part of this solution – supporting organisations with qualifications and End-Point Assessment services aligned to sector standards. Find out more about them at the end.

What the Care Certificate is, and what it isn’t

The Care Certificate is a set of 16 standards that define the basic knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of care support workers during induction. It is not a single course but a vital framework that embeds consistent, portable skills across the sector.

Currently, 54% of care workers do not hold a Level 2 qualification, underlining the need to formalise and recognise their skills.

The Care Certificate includes 16 standards, which cover:

1. Understanding your role
2. Personal development
3. Duty of care
4. Equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights
5. Person-centred approaches
6. Communication
7. Privacy and dignity
8. Fluids and nutrition
9. Awareness of mental health and dementia
10. Safeguarding adults
11. Safeguarding children
12. Basic life support
13. Health and safety
14. Handling information
15. Infection prevention and control
16. Awareness of learning disability and autism

Organisations can use the Care Certificate to onboard staff with a reliable baseline of skills and knowledge, and then support further development through higher-level or specialist qualifications.

Skills for Health offer eLearning mapped to each of the 16 standards, with every module and assessment written, reviewed and quality-assured by the experts who authored the framework. This eLearning covers all required knowledge components of the Care Certificate and can be used as evidence towards the regulated qualification, supporting both compliance and funding applications.

Funding and eligibility

Funding is available for social care organisations to train their employees to the Care Certificate (and other) standards. To be eligible, organisations need to use a training provider that has been approved on Skills for Care’s Quality Assured Care Learning Service. In addition, those training providers must be using an approved qualification from an awarding organisation.

Currently, employers can gain up to £1,540 per learner, with up to 60% payable on enrolment and 40% on successful completion of a Level 2 Care Certificate qualification.

These funding opportunities are part of the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS), which also funds a range of other health and social care qualifications.

iCQ Awards – awarding and assessment aligned to the Care Certificate

Skills for Health’s new sister organisation, iCQ, provides over 40 dedicated health and social care qualifications, and supports all adult social care apprenticeships standards with End-Point Assessment.

iCQ qualifications for the adult social care sector are eligible for funding under both the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) and the Quality Assured Care Learning Service.

The recent Skills England Assessment of Priority Skills to 2030 identified adult social care as central to the UK’s workforce strategy. iCQ helps address this need by:

• Strengthening provision at Levels 2 and 3
• Developing specialist pathways in dementia, end-of-life care, learning disabilities, and more
• Providing progression through to leadership and management at Levels 4 and 5.

Spotlight: iCQ Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate

This qualification has been built to recognise the learning and achievements of those who enter the social care workforce, and aligns directly with the Care Certificate standards co-authored by Skills for Health.

Providing regulated qualifications demonstrates your investment in the development of your staff, while embedding an independently verified recognition of competence.

Qualification overview:

• Occupational, competence-based qualification
• 15 mandatory units
• Can use recognition of prior learning, such as Care Certificate training, as evidence.

Other qualifications eligible for funding include the Level 2 Diploma in Care, Level 3 Diploma in Care, Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care, Level 4 Diploma in Care, and the Level 5 Diploma in Leading and Managing for Adult Care.

Funding is also available under LDSS for a number of Level 2 and 3 specialist awards in areas such as mental health, dementia, end of life care, autism, diabetes and others.

Get in touch with iCQ to find out how they can help support your workforce development.

Beyond the Care Certificate

The Care Certificate is only the start of the journey – find out how employees typically progress through levels below.

Level 2 – competent practitioner / entry-level regulated routes

Typical qualifications and routes:

• Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate – the regulated qualification against the Care Certificate standards
• Adult Care Worker (Level 2 apprenticeship) – work-based with EPA (end-point assessment), typically 12–18 months. It maps closely to frontline care worker duties and builds on Care Certificate learning.
• Level 2 diplomas / NVQs / BTEC in health and social care – classroom, blended or work-based options to gain an RQF Level 2 credential.

Level 2 turns the informal competence from induction into a regulated credential – it’s the platform for higher-level apprenticeships and supervisory routes. Employers often fund or part-fund Level 2 apprenticeships to secure retention and competence.

Level 3 – supervision, lead practitioner and team leader capability

Typical qualifications and routes:

• Lead Adult Care Worker (Level 3 apprenticeship) – prepares staff to lead frontline care, support others, manage caseloads and contribute to care planning. Typical delivery 12–24 months.
• Level 3 diplomas / NVQs / BTEC – develop supervisory competence, safeguarding, complex needs and clinical awareness.

Employees usually complete a Level 2 qualification, gain experience, then move to Level 3 (apprenticeship or diploma). Level 3 is increasingly seen as the sector’s standard for a confident frontline leader.

Level 4 – advanced practice, specialist or deputy-manager roles

Typical qualifications:

• Level 4 diplomas in adult care / health and social care – aimed at providing supervisory and service-delivery design capabilities, and may be delivered as higher-level diplomas or as the academic HE equivalent.

Level 4 qualifications bridge operational practice and management, introducing governance, commissioning, complex case management and sometimes supervisory qualification criteria.

Level 5 – leadership, registered manager and strategic capability

Typical qualifications:

• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Adult Care / Level 5 qualifications – used as the recognised route for registered managers and senior leaders.

Government care workforce guidance explicitly lists Level 5 diplomas and leadership awards as suitable learning for registered manager roles. Level 5 is often a requirement or strong expectation for staff who register with CQC as a manager for a specific service and location.

Practical tips for employers

1. Map induction to regulated learning: enrol staff onto Level 2 apprenticeships/diplomas that meets the needs of the Care Certificate standards, and agree a study and supervision plan.
2. Create a progression roadmap: show clear routes to development for employees and provide expected timelines.
3. Recognise prior learning: RPL and mapping can speed up qualification; record Care Certificate training (including eLearning) and workplace evidence carefully.
4. Make use of funding available: employers can access funding and levy accounts to support their learning and development programmes.
5. Mentor and supervise: progression stalls without line-manager support. Build protected learning time and link progression to pay bands.