International recruitment into adult social care

• NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has an advisory role coordinating and providing advice on international recruitment and pastoral support and working with providers to promote best practice.
• COSLA participates in the strategic oversight and overall governance of the project as a key stakeholder, also providing expert input and guidance into project development and delivery. They will also contribute to the evaluation of the pilot project.
• The Scottish government is responsible for providing strategic oversight of the project to ensure it aligns with national-level policy. They offer constructive challenges, provide advice, and support the removal of barriers to implementation. Additionally, they are responsible for the provision and distribution of funding to social care providers. 

The pilot aims to build capacity and infrastructure in local systems, to support social care providers in sponsoring, employing, recruiting and onboarding international candidates, and ensuring compliance with visa requirements. This approach affords care providers greater ownership and flexibility over their workforce, enabling them to recruit the right candidates with the right skills and values to work effectively in their services and in line with local context, ensuring better outcomes for both staff and people experiencing care.

Adult Social Care should ensure that people are living their best lives and maximising their wellbeing as equal citizens.  This requires an asset based system underpinned by a sustainable skilled workforce that has access to career development and progression and all are respected and valued for the work they do; and that empower people to achieve their goals and experience the best possible care outcomes.

Recruitment and retention are a continuous challenge for stability of the sector and sustainability of the workforce, and it is imperative to explore different potential domestic and international recruitment pipeline.  The labour market is applicant-led and ONS (Office of National Statistics) data indicates that for the first time since records began, there are fewer unemployed people than job vacancies. Increasing demand for comparable roles in competing sectors as well as different, more attractive roles in other industries, means it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the social care workforce. The cost-of-living increase has further compounded this issue.

Increasing capacity and stabilising the sector are the main priority.  Exploring a range of recruitment pipelines is imperative to achieving this.  Alongside robust domestic pipelines, international recruitment into adult social care offers a way to access the global talent pool.  The inclusion of social care workers on the ‘Shortage Occupation List’ brings the opportunity to recruit internationally and offers an additional means of responding to the significant workforce recruitment challenges impacting social care services in Scotland, alongside domestic recruitment.

Under the Centre for Workforce Supply Social Care (CWSS) a number social care providers will be commissioned to work with CWSS to identify opportunities to recruit social care workers internationally.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) provide resources that help providers with induction and continuous professional learning for new staff.  NES will play an advisory role to coordinate and provide advice on international recruitment, which would take place locally at provider level, and promote best practice. 

The pilot approach also provides investment to build capacity and infrastructure in local systems, to support social care providers to sponsor, employ, recruit and onboard international candidates, and ensure compliance with visa requirements.

This delegated and supported approach affords care providers greater ownership and flexibility over their workforce, enabling them to recruit candidates with the right skills and values to work effectively in their services and in line with local context, ensuring better outcomes for both staff and people experiencing care.

This delegated and supported approach affords care providers greater ownership and flexibility over their workforce, enabling them to recruit candidates with the right skills and values to work effectively in their services and in line with local context, ensuring better outcomes for both staff and people experiencing care.  The current iteration of the project runs to March 2024.

The Code of practice for international recruitment states that induction programmes should encompass cultural and pastoral support to settle into working and living in Scotland. This should include welcoming recruits (and family), accommodation, pay, registering with a GP, dentist, schooling, setting up a bank account, information relating to professional organisations, union representation, national Embassies or High Commissions and introduction to social networks.

The Centre for Workforce Supply Social Care (CWSS) team will centrally coordinate guidance and best practice resources/materials to support effective international recruitment plans, pastoral and professional best practice and overall implementation provided by NES and CWSS.  The programme will also share learning and best practice to ensure consistent, high-quality recruitment and retention initiatives via an online community of practice for international recruitment leads to allow easier sharing of ideas and discussion.