I have benefited from this opportunity myself. I qualified as a social worker in Melbourne, Australia but have worked in the UK for the past 20 years. While I work with adults, my experience of making the move to a different county has been similar to that of colleagues working with children and families.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in international recruitment to meet demand for social workers in children's and adult services. There are many reasons why social workers might want to migrate to the UK or other countries like Australia or Canada but this journey is not straightforward and requires considerable co-ordination and support. In my case, without the support from good colleagues and managers, I don't think I would have survived working for this long.
I am co-chair of BASW's Diaspora Social Work Special Interest Group and my colleagues and I have been advocating for the interests of overseas-qualified social workers and the promotion of ethical recruitment practices. When done well, recruitment and induction not only meet the demands of the workforce but can enable social workers with different skills and experience to stay and thrive at work.
Some councils have recruited directly whilst others have employed specialist recruitment agencies to carry out this work with varying degrees of success. This reflects a lack of consistency in overseas recruitment practices across the sector.
To help address this lack of consistency, the Diaspora group is currently developing a recruitment and induction standard for employers and recruiters of overseas social workers. By listening to the experiences of many overseas-qualified social workers we have identified some key themes to support successful recruitment and retention programmes.
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Get to know the worker. Each person is unique so spend time getting to know and understand each applicant's experience, skills, and aspirations and consider what they can bring to the workplace. This understanding can help identify the best team for them to work in and what support needs to be put in place. Before you employ someone, it is important to understand their personal values and whether or not these align with professional values in the UK and within your organisation.
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Provide practical information and support to help with resettlement. Overseas social workers should be given information to help them prepare for life in the UK. This includes information on accommodation, setting up bank accounts and how to access support from local services. Some recruitment agencies have dedicated teams to help with these practical matters.
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Focus on thorough induction. Providing a comprehensive induction programme is key. This should include up-to-date information about the local community and teams and ensure new staff are familiar with the organisational policies and procedures needed to practice safely. Where possible, this should be supported with coaching and mentoring to help staff orientate and understand the cultural context of practice. Ideally much of this information should be provided before new employees arrive in the UK.
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Ensure emotional and wellbeing support. Staff peer groups and local community groups can be invaluable sources of emotional support and help promote staff wellbeing. Peer groups can allow overseas-trained social workers to share experiences about their work and resettlement, in a safe, non-judgmental space.
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Promote respect for cultural diversity. Encourage cultural understanding in the workplace by providing cultural competence training and, wherever possible, support overseas qualified staff to observe their religious practices and celebrate cultural traditions.
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To find out more – or get involved – in work to develop new overseas recruitment standards email the Diaspora Social Work Special Interest Group at: diaspora@baswnetwork.co.uk or follow the group on Twitter @BASWDiasporaSIG
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Read more: Recruiting social workers from overseas
