At Sure Healthcare and Supported Living, a recruitment agency & care provider, we’ve been providing residential, nursing home, domiciliary and complex care support to residential homes and health trusts across Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire since 2015.
We know all too well how hard the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be felt across the care sector. Since the pandemic, recruitment in the industry has been an immense challenge. Many workers have left and not returned, highlighting the need to attract new talent into care work – people who perhaps wouldn’t have previously considered it as a career. The latest Skills for Care report on the state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England highlights the recruitment and retention difficulties the sector is facing. Despite an increase in total job posts in 2021/2022, there were 50,000 fewer filled posts and an additional 55,000 vacancies to fill compared to the previous year.
To widen our search and ensure we found the right candidates for our clients, we turned to Maximus and the Restart Scheme in August 2022 to support us with our recruitment in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Introducing new people to care is vital for not only the industry, but the most vulnerable around us who rely on our services.
Taking care of our recruitment
We have a very close-knit relationship with our dedicated Maximus Account Manager, who takes time to understand our company, our needs and our vision – and matches our vacancies with suitable participants from the Restart Scheme.
Maximus takes care of all our recruiting needs, while we take care of our clients. Through in-depth pre-screening, Maximus ensures we find candidates who are most suited for our job roles.
I’ve had the opportunity to attend several job fairs at the Restart Scheme offices in Leeds to meet participants face-to-face and to answer any queries they may have about working in care. I have also been welcomed to the offices to carry out individual recruitment days which include one-to-one interviews and group sessions.
Successful candidates complete an in-house training course, for which they receive full pay, and are financially supported by Maximus to be DBS checked before moving into work. Maximus provides a comprehensive and complete recruitment package at no cost to us, helping us to save money, but most importantly time.
Welcoming new talent to the care sector
Our partnership with Maximus has allowed us to tap into a larger talent pool to fill our vacancies than ever before.
It’s a great time to join the sector, and together we are helping people to discover how rewarding it can be as a career path. Historically, we typically hired those with previous experience in the sector, but the participants from Maximus have been carefully chosen to ensure they have the right attributes to have a long and successful career in the industry.
Our new staff members, hired by us after being supported on the Restart Scheme, have been fantastic. Many have little to no previous experience of care, but they have proven to be a massive asset, coming to work with a fresh outlook and an eagerness to learn.
Care workers take joy from knowing the difference they are making to someone’s life, and our clients have had nothing but praise for our new recruits.
Scope for expansion
I’m very excited about the future of our partnership with Maximus. We hope to maintain our strong relationship, as we expand into new areas and sectors across the UK. Thanks to the ongoing success of our care recruitment, we hope to begin working with Maximus on our other brands such as Sure Logistics, Sure Commercial and Sure Staffing which focus on Warehouse and Industrial roles.
We are looking forward to opening new offices later this year, providing us with the opportunity to replicate the success of our work with the Restart Scheme in Leeds and West Yorkshire – reaching more participants than ever before and offering local people local opportunities in what can be a highly rewarding career. The support we have received to date has been invaluable.
