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Right to workLatest NewsRecruitment & retentionImmigration

Invest in domestic care workforce, says sector body chief

by Jo Faragher 15 Dec 2023
by Jo Faragher 15 Dec 2023 Employers in the care sector need long-term recruitment and retention strategies, says Care England chief executive
Employers in the care sector need long-term recruitment and retention strategies, says Care England chief executive

The head of care industry body Care England has called for employers to ‘think creatively’ about how they recruit into the struggling sector.

Professor Martin Green said that new immigration measures announced earlier this month made it “harder than before” to recruit overseas workers, and urged the sector to adapt.

In early December, home secretary James Cleverly announced a range of measures designed to slash legal immigration to the UK, pushing up the annual salary required for a skilled worker visa to £38,700.

Although those on health and care visas are exempt, they will no longer be able to bring dependants, a measure that could be catastrophic for care employers.

Green said the proposed changes meant the care sector would have to act swiftly to invest in its domestic workforce.

“We must look at our recruitment practice and develop new strategies to bring more domestic staff into a career in care,” he said.

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“We must think creatively about what groups of people we can bring to the sector, and ensure they are the right people to provide support to those in receipt of care.”

Care England has issued a report, Savings, Solutions and Sustainability, looking at how it can address challenges in the sector in the long term.

Data from Skills for Care shows that there is a staff turnover rate of 28.3% in care, and there were more than 150,000 live vacancies in October 2023, and one proposed solution is to embrace values-based recruitment.

In the report, Damien Wilkins, a recruitment and retention specialist at Cohesion, argues that determining a candidate’s values and suitability through assessment tools could offer a greater return on investment than constantly re-recruiting.

The report also suggests that investments such as employee assistance programmes and wellbeing support could help tackle staff turnover by helping to build emotional resilience.

Green added: “The social care sector is brimming with optimism and talent. It’s up to us to platform this positivity and draw other like-minded individuals to the sector.

“We must override existing stigmas that exist around social care by showcasing what a fulfilling opportunity a career in care is.”

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Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

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