Councils turn to foreign workers

With vacancies for qualified children's social worker positions on the rise, local authorities are increasingly looking overseas to find suitable candidates.

Figures from the Department for Education show that, as of 30 September 2014, there were 4,320 vacant full-time children's social worker posts across English councils. This compares with 3,610 in 2013, an increase of 19.7 per cent.

While some authorities are trying to recruit and retain staff through tried and trusted methods such as "golden hello" payments and retention bonuses, an increasing number are recruiting from abroad.

Recently, Northamptonshire launched a recruitment campaign in India, while Buckinghamshire County Council is hoping to fill 20 or more positions with Romanian social workers.

While there is no accurate gauge of exactly how many children's social care positions are filled by foreign nationals - the regulator for the sector's workforce, the Health and Care Professions Council, told CYP Now it does not collate year-on-year statistics on the numbers of overseas candidates being employed by councils. But a 2011 study estimated that about eight per cent of the English social work workforce gained their professional qualification in another country.

Dr Shereen Hussein, principal research fellow within the social care workforce research unit at King's College London, says the figure is now likely to be up to 10 per cent.

Also, where recruiting from English-speaking non-EU countries used to dominate, she says there has been a notable shift to European recruitment due to the introduction in 2011 of immigration caps on workers coming from outside the EU that makes their recruitment a more difficult process.

"We are seeing an increase in volume and a shift from the traditional non-EU countries such as the US, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, to new accession EU states such as Romania and Poland," Hussein says. "That provides different issues around language and type of practice.

"Social workers coming from outside the EU had to pass language tests. In the EU, it is up to the employer to judge whether the level of language is suitable."

She also highlights differences in the way child protection systems work in some European countries. She says a recurring issue is councils failing to provide tailored inductions to help them acclimatise to working in the UK.

"In Romania, there are a lot of non-governmental organisations (involved with child protection) because they don't have statutory social work," she says. "There is a shock when people come here and see how it is so different."

Hussein says there can also be issues with discrimination. "There can be a huge amount of stress that goes over into their personal lives in a profession that is already stressful," she says.

Maris Stratulis, England manager at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), says it is vital that employers acknowledge there will be differences in training modules and workforce development within and outside of the EU.

"Some of the issues employers will need to consider is differences in experience of professional practice and processes - for example, statute, court processes and recording," she says.

"Employers must invest in good quality, well planned induction processes and ongoing staff support to recruit and retain skilled and qualified social workers."

She adds there is also more local authorities can do to attract quality social workers - newly qualified and experienced candidates - from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

"Employers need to consider good relocation packages, terms and conditions, employer standards, manageable caseloads, good supervision, workforce development and providing a good working environment for staff."

Buckinghamshire Council will offer an extended induction process for prospective employees from Romania. Gill Quinton, managing director for business enterprise and shared services at the authority, says transition arrangements are being finalised to ensure prospective recruits from Romania are familiar with differences in practice, can find accommodation and are able to settle in England.

The council has 60 vacant children's social worker posts, of which 50 are filled with expensive agency staff. It is aiming to recruit about 20 staff from Romania.

A recruitment campaign run in Romania with the help of a recruitment firm resulted in 100 CVs being collected. Alongside this, it has agreed to introduce a £1.4m recruitment package to attract recruits in England, including golden hello payments of up to £5,000 and retention bonuses of £3,000. Quinton says the authority is introducing a lengthy induction process to address any differences in practice and culture.

A Northamptonshire County Council spokesman said the authority is looking to recruit 16 experienced children's social workers from India.

"There is a national shortage of experienced social workers," he says. "The international social workers we are recruiting are highly qualified and experienced and so are helping us fill hard to recruit to positions."

Social workers who qualified outside the UK are being asked to take part in an anonymous survey being conducted by researchers from King’s College London.

In numbers

• 8% of social workers in England gained their professional qualification in another country
• 19.7% increase in vacant full-time children's social worker posts across English councils between 2013 and 2014
• 4,320 - the number of vacant posts in England at September 2014

Source: Middlesex University and Department for Education