Develop your care career and progress toward becoming a social worker, occupational therapist, or registered nurse in adult social care. Build your experience, develop your skills, and take the steps needed to achieve professional registration.
Regulated professionals working in adult social care include social workers, occupational therapists, and registered nurses. In these roles, you will often work within multi-disciplinary teams to support people with complex or changing needs, help prevent avoidable hospital admissions, and enable individuals to live more independently in their homes and communities.
Although regulated professionals make up a relatively small proportion of the adult social care workforce, they make a vital and significant contribution to care outcomes. Progression into these roles typically involves additional academic study alongside ongoing professional development, but offers a rewarding and respected long-term career in the sector.
We’ve highlighted a range of entry routes and progression opportunities into regulated professions in adult social care. Your pathway will depend on your individual circumstances, experience, and career aspirations, but prior experience in adult social care, along with the values developed through working in the sector, provides a strong foundation for progression into any of these roles.
Employer-supported routes, such as apprenticeships, can offer valuable opportunities to gain professional qualifications while continuing to work.
Explore the social work, occupational therapy, and registered nursing career pathways and be inspired by real stories of people who have progressed from frontline care work into each of these regulated professions.
Take your next step to becoming a regulated professional in adult social care.
Pathways into social work
PDF - 233KB
Discover different pathways to qualify as a social worker. See how Amina developed her own career in social work and get an employer’s perspective on supporting staff through a social work degree apprenticeship.
From care assistant to Principal Social Worker, Jo’s story shows how early experience in social care can grow into a rewarding, long-term leadership career built on commitment, learning, and a passion for supporting people.
Pathways into occupational therapy
PDF - 249KB
Explore progression routes into occupational therapy. Be inspired by Andrew’s career story and see how a local authority is developing occupational therapists from within their adult social care services.
Jonnie began his career in adult social care as a community care officer and discovered a passion for occupational therapy. His journey shows how hands-on experience, commitment, and the right support can lead to a rewarding career as a qualified occupational therapist.
Pathways into registered nursing
PDF - 254KB
Learn about the opportunities available to become a registered nurse. Hear the route Safiya took to qualify as a learning disability nurse and find out how a large care provider is creating dedicated career progression routes into this regulated profession.
Ryan’s progression from support worker to qualified learning disability nurse shows how a career in adult social care can lead to meaningful, skilled, and nationally recognised professional practice.