By Chesca Douglas | November 5, 2026
Last Updated on November 5, 2026
Chesca Douglas, Programme Coordinator at Championing Social Care, explains why the impact of the Care Sector’s Got Talent campaign lasts much longer than just one day.
The annual Care Sector’s Got Talent final, held at the start of October, crowned yet another worthy winner; blindfolded pianist Tom Rose, who wowed both the judges and audience at the NEC in Birmingham.
Care Sector’s Got Talent exists to celebrate the creativity, personality and skills of care sector staff, by giving them a platform to share talents and interests from outside of the workplace. This outlet not only brings to the surface talents that may not be visible in the day-to-day but also shows applicants that the care sector is somewhere where their achievements are recognised and valued. So, what does this mean for the care sector?
The importance of recognition as a workforce strategy
The care sector is not the only industry seeing a shift in employee priorities and expectations. Alongside pay and workplace benefits, prospective and existing employees are more interested than ever in feeling like they belong, with opportunities to grow and strengthen their professional and personal identity.
Care Sector’s Got Talent strives to give employees from all corners of the sector a space to contribute beyond their day job and bring their external interests to work. As both a recruitment and retention strategy, this provides a morale boost and shows care sector professionals that this is a sector that values creativity, resilience and ambition.
In fact, we need only look at the incredible support received by our finalists this year, both from their own care groups and the wider industry, to really see the impact of inclusive recognition in bringing the sector together. This is also true for those acts who combine the talents of care staff with residents and those receiving care and support, celebrating the whole care community.
At its heart, Care Sector’s Got Talent encourages care groups to get behind and support applicants from their own group as well as others, acknowledging the individuals behind the job roles, the daily tasks, and the resident lists.
Making talent visible
Care Sector’s Got Talent is a sector-wide platform for showcasing talent of all types. But how can providers bring this broad opportunity for recognition into their own management strategy?
It all starts with internal recognition, and how providers encourage and celebrate the skills and interests of their own staff and residents. Staff profiles and internal awards can be a great way to bring talents to life within an individual setting, while special events and talent-based activities also give residents an outlet to share the interests that define their life and personality.
Ideas and initiatives like these, driven by the talents that exist in your own community, allow individuals to bring personality to their everyday and build stronger relationships among colleagues, care staff, residents and their families.
The wider lesson
This annual campaign and the grand final event demonstrate that social care is a community full of creativity, humour, resilience, leadership and ambition – and the more that providers can do to make those qualities visible, the better their recruitment and retention results will be. Record numbers applied to take part this year, and applications are welcomed from care workers, managers, activity coordinators, residents and people receiving support.
Care Sector’s Got Talent is a programme run by the charitable organisation, Championing Social Care. Championing Social Care has a mission to expand public recognition of the value of social care across a number of events. Talent shows off the huge breadth of hidden skills in the workforce.
Care Home Open Week aims to showcase the amazing things that happen in modern care – allowing people to live and thrive in supportive environments. Who Cares Wins! opens a door to careers in care for hundreds of young people who are about to step into the job market. The thread that links all the programmes is shining a positive light on social care.
Chesca Douglas is Programme Coordinator at Championing Social Care. For more information and to catch up on this year’s Care Sector’s Got Talent final, click here.