A leading Scottish care provider has launched a campaign to boost recruitment into the care sector against the background of a ‘perfect storm’ of staff shortages and the potential impact of Brexit.
Based in Hamilton but active across Scotland, LOVE@care offers a wide range of professional care services, tailored to individual service user needs and undertaken by highly trained carers.
Its campaign will seek to highlight the various roles and considerable opportunities available in the sector, with a specific focus on attracting those from non-care related backgrounds and men. It has also called on care providers to ‘raise their game’, boosting its attractiveness to those seeking new opportunities.
With people living longer, and early learning and childcare expansion, Scotland needs more people to work in the care sector, addressing the current care crisis.
Currently the number of vacancies in the sector is growing, with the latest data from the Care Inspectorate indicating that 38 per cent of services reported having vacancies, up two per cent on the previous year. In addition, 45 per cent of services with vacancies reporting problems filling them.
Care at home services (62 per cent), care homes for older people (59 per cent), housing support services (59%) and care homes for adults (53 per cent) were the main service types with the largest proportion of services reporting vacancies, all significantly above the national average.
This problem is set to be exacerbated by Brexit which could lead to lower levels of immigration to Scotland. EU nationals account for 5.6 per cent of staff in the care sector currently, with 42 per cent of care services recruitment overseas coming from the EU.
A report from the STUC earlier this year also found that the workforce of the care sector will have to expand by 80,000 – an additional 40 per cent of workers – by 2035. 83 per cent of those employed in the sector are women.
The care provider has also urged the sector to ‘raise its game’ in general, making itself more attractive as a career choice through offering a decent wage and helping individuals working in it gain qualifications, noting that many working in it currently feel undervalued.
Reinforcing this it pointed to the fact that one in 10 social care workers are on zero hours contracts and 80 per cent of early years practitioners and 50 per cent of supervisors earn less than the real Living Wage of £9 per hour.
Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE@care said: “This recruitment campaign comes against a ‘perfect storm’ of major staff shortages and the potential impact of Brexit, which will simply worsen the crisis we are already in.
“We are operating in a sector where there are clearly problems recruiting workers and in order to attract people we need make them aware of the considerable opportunities on offer and do more to enhance its reputation and ensure that it is valued as a career choice.
“We would urge all providers to raise their game look at solutions to create a sustainable and successful care sector, tackling the recruitment challenge. As an example, the career pathway we provide through training supports individuals gain the qualifications to move through the ranks of the care sector and help establish this as a career of choice, helping to improve people’s lives.”
Case study – Tracy Jackson
Support worker for LOVE@care
Originally from Sheffield, Tracy Jackson was employed as factory worker on leaving school.
After eight years she left the job to start a family and on her return to work decided that she needed more flexibility, not provided for in a factory setting.
She subsequently got an interview with a local bookmakers in Sheffield and while nervous she looked forward to the change in career. She loved the role and soon progressed to store manager and then left to progress her career with another bookmakers.
This one was going to be more of a challenge as this was more responsibility and pressure as she had to manage the busiest bookmaker in Sheffield. She embraced the role and enjoyed the differences in characters that would frequent the business. It was a hard role and there was immense pressure to meet targets and manage customer relations when something went wrong.
After 25 years in the role she decided to move to Dalry in Ayrshire and wanted a different career, something to enjoy as much as her previous roles. Tracy looked at going back to college to study to be a social worker but felt this was not going to be a hands-on role, feeling that she more of a hands-on person.
She took the role of support worker with LOVE@care: “I was amazed at how well I settled into my role, finding it very rewarding. I really love it and the experiences that it has created and sometimes feel that it is not a job.
“I am happy at work and receive on-the-job training. Don’t get me wrong, some days can be challenging but when I get through them I feel so positive that a great service is being provided and the best possible support has been provided to address the needs of those I am looking after.
“Some days I don’t even feel as if I am working. I have found that most of my working life skill have stood me in good stead for this role as I assist people to, for example, manage their finances, keep their tenancies secure and undertake all the everyday run of the mill things.”
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