International Social Care Workers:

People and places in an

exchangeable time

Policy Research Programme: Workforce Initiative

Shereen Hussein

Jill Manthorpe

Martin Stevens

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The Research funded by the Department of Health’s Social

Care Workforce Research Initiative: July 2007 - July 2009;

Quantitative analysis of existing data interviews

Recruitment agencies - national Policy, regulatory, carers’ organizations - national Employers/human resource managers (6 sites) International workers and their colleagues Refugees and asylum seekers People using services

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Phase I

Literature Review Phone interviews with 20

recruitment agencies Secondary data analysis of NMDS-

SC

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recruiting international workers Demand:

Demographic changes; staff shortages

Attributes of workers Hard workers; highly motivated;

appreciate their jobs (and the pay) Different perspectives

Bringing something new; international learning

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Agencies’ perspective

‘We want hard working people and people coming in from the Eastern bloc are more hard working, or can be, than some of the people who are already existing in the market here. Those people have become complacent and often want to use the system for their own benefits rather than for the benefits of the clients – the workers are not so reliable as the people who are coming into the country and are not used to the social system’.

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Difficulties in employing international workers

Recruitment process CRB and Police checks Visas Retrieving references

After placement Qualifications’ recognition Induction and training needs Nature of work

Personal and cultural sensitivity Different concepts of ‘care’ Language and communication issues

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Agencies’ Perspective ‘ ‘Process of employing from overseas can be

off putting… Government should make overseas employment procedures more streamlined – visa and sponsorship requirements are burdensome.’

‘They [social workers from US] do a lot more counselling and actively working to keep families together. In the UK it’s all assessment, assessment, assessment. And again, some of the social workers from Africa and India are more involved with social development at home and that’s brilliant in those circumstances’.

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Social care & social work

Trend of employing international workers in both sets of jobs

However, different types of migrants in relation to qualifications and country of origin in the two sets

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International social workers

Increasing trend of employing directly from abroad: Particularly from countries where social work

education is seen to be more compatible with the UK

Australia; New Zealand; South Africa More recently from the US and Canada

Tend to come for a specific period of time Specific contact Gap year students May be decreasing with New Degree graduates

and less use of agency staff

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NMDS data and workers who had their previous job ‘abroad’

Larger proportion of males than average A recent influx of workers from Eastern Europe Younger on average White (other) more likely to be care workers

while Asians tend to be senior care workers May reflect those with un-recognised nursing

qualifications from the Philippines and other Asian countries

On average more qualified than other workers (78% with at least NVQ3 vs. 51%)

Most of them work as care or senior care workers (75%)

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Motivations of international workers

Vary by types of work Some arrive at an early stage in their

careers, maybe temporarily to gain experience.

Some may be older with more families → resettlement may become a reality

From A8 to obtain better work opportunities, may be a more mobile group.

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International workers may prefer to start through agencies:

Flexibility Most of the people in the care sector,

certainly the social care side, run families, want a more diverse work pace, and they want to look after their families.

Variety: opportunity to ‘try something new’.

Easier to obtain than permanent work: ‘…if they [overseas workers] are very new to

the country potentially working for an agency would be their first path of employment’

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Recent trends Younger More ‘White’ (A8) More male Potentially more mobile

Within the sector Stepping stone until own qualifications are recognized

Between sectors Geographically (nationally and internationally)

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Possible Implications Service users and carers

Culture and language differences Employers & education

Fine tuning induction and training Qualification recognition, ‘career’ models Access to Social Work degree & marketing Relevance of PQs, CPD Leaning from migrant/international

colleagues

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Contacts and References Further information

Shereen Hussein: shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk; tel: 0207 8481669

Hussein S. Manthorpe J and Stevens M (2008) International social care workers: Initial outcomes, workforce experiences and future expectations; Phase I Interim report to the Department of Health, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London.

Hussein S. Manthorpe J and Stevens M. (In press) People in places: a qualitative exploration of recruitment agencies’ perspectives on the employment of international social workers in the UK. British Journal of Social Work