Doncaster Launches Digital Hub and Training to Bridge Skills Gap

Doncaster’s adult social care workforce numbered around 10,000 posts in 2024/25, with 8,800 of those filled. The sector’s staff turnover rate of 20.7% sat below the regional average of 24.3% and the England average of 23.7%, a sign of relative stability but also of the persistent recruitment and retention pressures that shape the local labour market.

One-stop shop for job seekers

The City of Doncaster Council has this year launched an online employment hub, designed as a single access point for residents looking for jobs, career changes, skills development, or self-employment. The portal brings together vacancies, training offers and advice in one place, and phone support is available on 01302 735554, weekdays between 10am and 1pm. The hub is part of a wider push to make employment support easier to find, particularly for those who may not know where to start or who face barriers to digital access.

Upskilling through the ‘Summer of Skills’

In June 2026, DN Colleges Group launched its ‘Summer of Skills’ campaign, offering flexible apprenticeships, short courses and bespoke training across Doncaster. The initiative targets health, digital, leadership and business sectors, areas where local employers have reported skill shortages. By providing modular, bite-sized learning, the campaign aims to help businesses upskill existing staff while also creating pathways for new entrants into the workforce. The college group’s existing links with employers in the region mean the training can be tailored to specific workplace needs, from digital literacy to supervisory skills.

Council strategy and planning lever

Doncaster Council, together with its partners, is updating the Adults Workforce Strategy in 2026. The refresh focuses on early intervention, prevention, choice and strength-based, person-centred care, principles that tie directly to the social care workforce data and the broader aim of building a more resilient local labour market. Meanwhile, the Local Labour Agreement Supplementary Planning Document, adopted in August 2023, gives the council a practical lever: planning applicants must now submit an Employment and Training Skills Plan. This plan is meant to maximise local employment, upskilling and partnership between employers and training providers whenever a new development comes forward, effectively embedding workforce development into the town’s planning process.

What happens next

For Doncaster residents, the immediate next step is straightforward: the council’s employment hub is live now, and the ‘Summer of Skills’ courses are open for enrolment. Phone support is available for those who prefer to talk through their options. For businesses, the message is to engage early with training providers and, where a development is in the pipeline, to prepare the Employment and Training Skills Plan required under the 2023 Local Labour Agreement. With both the workforce strategy refresh and the summer campaign in full swing, the coming months will test how effectively these tools translate into filled posts and reduced turnover across the borough’s key sectors.

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