An 82-year-old retired social worker has been sent a letter by a recruitment agency asking her to return to the profession, as positions in the sector remain unfilled.
Barbara MacArthur left her job as a social worker in 1982, but was sent a letter by recruitment agency Evergood Associates offering her up to £50 an hour to return to work.
The letter follows the announcement of a government campaign to entice 5,000 former social workers back to work after the Respect and Protect report revealed that nearly one in 10 social worker positions remain empty and 89% of councils were struggling to recruit experienced social workers.
Lisa Drage, operations manager at Evergoods, told Personnel Today: “We were not aware of her age. We have been in touch with her and have expressed our concern that our database isn’t as accurate as it could be. We also told her if she had any friends trained as social workers they would be welcome to get in touch.”
She added: “We have a lot of roles to fill, there are always positions to be filled in social care at the moment.”
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The company used a database of previous employees to send out letters and e-mails advertising the positions they have on offer, when MacArthur’s name was picked up.
MacArthur, who lives in Cardiff, told Wales Online: “I knew they were desperate for social workers, but I didn’t think they were this desperate!”
