Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership and Scottish Care are working together, in collaboration with care providers from across Renfrewshire, including HRM Home Care, Bluebird Care, Visiting Angelz, and Home Instead, as well as Invest Renfrewshire and the DWP, to tackle the current recruitment challenges being faced in the Adult Social Care sector locally.
It has been well documented that recruitment to the sector has been a national challenge throughout the COVID pandemic. In Renfrewshire alone, it is estimated there are currently more than 200 roles available in this field. This figure gives an approximate indication of how many new people are needed to return staff numbers to pre-pandemic levels.
A local recruitment campaign will be launching in the coming weeks, which will complement the national recruitment drive currently featuring across the country This will provide a Renfrewshire focus, featuring local people sharing their own stories of why a career in adult social care can be one of the most satisfying roles you can do.
In a recent survey undertaken by Scottish Care involving 170 Renfrewshire people working in adult social care, almost 85% of people said they enjoyed their job. This is a significant finding in the face of the pressures of the last two years.
John Eden, Independent Sector Lead for Renfrewshire said, "Social care provides a wide variety of employment opportunities that suit people of all ages and backgrounds. Many perceive it as just working with older adults, and providing personal care, when in fact it is much more varied, offering the chance to work with people of all ages, backgrounds and needs"
As part of the campaign, people living in the community will also be invited to attend a series of local job fairs over the coming months.
The first of these has been arranged for Wednesday 15 March at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley. The event will run between 10am and 6pm and will feature a wide variety of roles, available for those looking to start a new career, or to find out more about why it could be the right path for them.
The event will feature 30 organisations, each offering different opportunities to suit anyone who attends on the day.
Christine Laverty, Chief Officer of Renfrewshire Health, and Social Care Partnership said: "Our focus is always to ensure the people of Renfrewshire continue to receive the best possible care, when and where they need it most. We need caring and compassionate people to join us, right across Renfrewshire, to help us deliver on our commitments to them. I would encourage everyone interested in a rewarding career with development opportunities, to come along to our jobs fair in March to find out more."
Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care added: "There are very few jobs and careers out there which make the sort of difference which working in social care brings. In a matter of minutes and hours you can literally change someone's life for the better. If what matters to you in life is people and supporting another to live the life they want to live then please consider coming to the jobs fair. It could be a decision that will not only change your life but that of so many others."
ENDS
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