‘Middle-aged staff more likely to stay’

Scottish social care employers may want to focus training on middle-aged staff because they are less likely to leave than younger staff, a Scottish executive official has said.

Ian Storrie, an economist in the education department, told an Association of Directors of Social Work conference last week that many younger people left the sector for family or career reasons.

He said employers would face a choice between “whether to make the sector more attractive to younger staff or target resources at older people in the belief they will be a more stable return on the investment”.