Summary: In spite of the inclusion of social care worker in the Health and Social Care Professionals Act (2005) almost twenty years ago and the impending opening of a register for social care workers in November 2023, social care work and workers have remained largely conspicuous by their absence. This is perhaps all the more surprising given that social care workers are likely to be the largest single profession to be regulated by CORU (The Health and Social Care Professionals Council). However, as the findings of this survey (n=350) with social care workers indicates, social care work is a divided profession, which is perceived to be poorly understood by other health and social care professionals, and which felt to be almost entirely absent from public awareness. In large part, such perceptions can be explained by state rather than profession led moves to regulation, the continued dominance of employers in areas such as job title, roles and responsibilities, and progression and career pathways, and, shaped by such drivers the internalisation by social care workers of perceptions of social care work as a lesser profession. Social care workers are enthusiastically optimistic that the opening of a register and thus, the establishment of regulation of the social care profession by CORU will address many of these issues. However, registration and regulation may be something of a double-edged sword and this presentation draws upon the survey findings to explore what registration and regulation may mean for social care workers and social care work.

Dr Martin Power is a lecturer in the Discipline of Health Promotion and a former Director of the BA (Hons) Social Care Programme. Martin has published on topics such as risk and regulation, care planning and health and social care professionals’ education. Martin’s research in recent years has focused on the professionalisation of social care work in the lead up to the opening of a register, with topics including registration awareness amongst social care workers, recruitment and retention in social care work and, most recently perceptions of professionalisation. Martin has presented the findings of his research to CORU’s Social Care Workers Registration Board, as well as more widely at conferences and seminars.