A new recruitment drive has been launched in an attempt to fill the vacancies in the social care profession.
It is hoped that up to 5,000 former social workers could be encouraged to come back to work as many councils are struggling with recruitment and retention, although the situation has improved over the last few years.
A report released by the Local Government Association (LGA), entitled Respect and Protect, revealed that one in ten social worker posts are vacant at any one time.
In addition, of the councils that were having recruitment problems, 89 per cent struggled to hire experienced children social workers.
Chairman of the Local Government Association, councillor Margaret Eaton, said: "If lessons are to be learned, then we must look to the future and recruit and retain staff so that they can protect the most vulnerable children in society.
The teaching industry is also looking to recruit workers, particularly for maths and science subjects, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools.
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