RECRUITMENT
Ensuring You Have the Best Talent
Jill Whittaker, Managing Director of Connect2Care, national care sector training and apprenticeship provider, discusses how employers can ensure they attract and retain the best possible staff as the Brexit process begins.
Attracting and retaining the best talent is always important but no more so than right now. As the lengthy Brexit talks continue, the fear is that we’ll see a mass exodus of crucial EU health and social care workers in the next two years as uncertainty grows.
With one in five of the adult social care workforce (18.4%) in England born outside the UK, according to the Moved to Care report, including 150,000 working in residential care homes and 81,000 working in adult domiciliary care, it is clear that migrant workers play a key role in the care workforce.
https://www.independentage.org/sites/default/files/2016-05/IA%20Moved%20to%20care%20report_12%2011%2015.pdf
Though we are working in a precarious and unstable situation, it is, without doubt, time to ‘double down’ and tighten our efforts. We need to retain the best staff and attract new ones with quality training and employment packages, investing in home-grown talent and up-skilling the workforce and keeping the great people we have.
With that in mind, now is the time to take a closer look at the package that businesses should be offering staff. A desirable package in place covers employee benefits and developmental opportunities. By creating attractive
and innovative employment packages that adapt to employee’s needs as well as those of the business, you will have structures in place to provide a basis for stability and growth in employment. These can include flexible working hours, training in specific areas that are becoming more important, such as dementia, having strong CSR credentials and the chance for employees to make an important contribution to society.
An invaluable tool for staff retention is developing employee’s skills, which can only benefit the business further. By up-skilling and cross-skilling across the board, the care sector can lessen any skills gaps caused by Brexit. In fact, offering training such as apprenticeships can have a significant, positive impact on the whole team.
Apprenticeships have undergone a huge shake-up over the last year with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, and this period of change is set to continue in 2018 as the switchover to the new apprenticeship standards comes into force on 31st
The aim is to raise the bar and guarantee training is rigorous and even more in line with the demands of
today’s quality-driven market. They have been designed by experienced employers in the sector – known as ‘Trailblazers’ – to ensure businesses can offer their apprentices more innovative and relevant training than ever before. Ultimately, the apprenticeship standards will help apprentices to gain the skills and knowledge required to carve out a successful and long-term career, future-proofing the workforce for employers.
When it comes to implementing an apprenticeship programme, the key is to remember that apprenticeships aren’t just for the younger generation or new people coming into the industry. With qualifications starting at level 2 Healthcare Support Worker and going right through to level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care, there are apprenticeships available to suit all business functions and training needs.
December 2017.
If you don’t currently have an apprenticeship programme, you don’t have to introduce one but it would seem a waste to not make the most of the Apprenticeship Levy. It’s a great way to support staff retention and development, creating financial efficiencies, improving performance and ultimately helping to drive profits.
With uncertain times ahead, and no doubt that Brexit will impact on the workforce, now is the time to invest in staff skills, create the best possible work conditions and a framework for personal growth that simply cannot be ignored by existing and potential staff. Interesting times can indeed be turned into exciting times. The opportunity to build the best possible team is there, and the door is open for businesses to benefit.
connect2care.net - 24 -
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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