[United Kingdom] In a survey of 146 care providers across the UK, three quarters (71.9%) reported that recruitment has become “harder as lockdown has eased”, whilst four in five (82.8%) believe that traditional recruitment costs are rising.

Martin Warnes, Director of Join Social Care, said of the findings: “What is clearly demonstrated within this research is a growing concern from providers, that traditional recruitment methods simply aren’t cutting it in today’s climate.

A separate survey by the United Kingdom Homecare Association shows more than 90% per cent agree recruitment is harder now than before covid, or the hardest it has ever been.

"Care workers have made incredible sacrifices throughout covid. £15 is the average hourly salary in the UK. Our skilled care workers deserve no less." -GMB Social Care Lead

“The easing of lockdown restrictions has created significant competition for staff across a range of sectors and is making it harder for Care Providers to secure new staff members and will be an increasing challenge to their ability to deliver care as the year progresses.

“We’re seeing, with much greater clarity, the shortcomings of historic approaches to recruitment such as generic job boards and agencies, and an urgent need for the care sector to innovate it’s way out of this crisis.

“There is a pressing need to not only attract new talent towards a career in care, but also to ease their transition into the sector by placing them in the right role with the right Provider. The Care sector needs to be more adept and confident in how it presents itself to prospective candidates which is central to our work at Join Social Care.”

Respondents to the survey came from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with three quarters (75%) actively recruiting for professional carers, more than half (56.1%) for care assistants and just over a quarter (26.4%) for live-in carers.

The publication of the research coincides with the launch of Join Social Care’s new Provider Search offering, through which it can match tens of thousands of new professional care jobseekers with providers actively recruiting across the country.

The new function, available online, allows jobseekers to find their preferred providers and apply with them directly.

Join Social Care ended its partnership with the government in February and announced its intention to attract 100,000 new candidates to the care sector.

The platform originally launched with the Department of Health and Social Care in May 2020, but is now acting independently to connect those interested in a career in care with providers nationwide.