The care sector is facing serious problems. According to reports by the Care Quality Commission, some residents are left in their rooms all day. In very bad cases, they don’t get showers for over a week, get hurt by other residents, and are left sitting in their own urine.
The number of job vacancies has gone up a lot—by 52% last year—to 165,000, says Skills for Care. This means nearly 1 in 10 social care jobs in England are unfilled. Because of this, 95% of care providers say they can’t take new clients because they don’t have enough staff.
Things are getting worse. 25% of the workers are over 55, and more than half of young carers want to leave their jobs next year. They say this is because of low pay, long hours, and exhausting workloads. Supermarkets and Amazon warehouses offer higher pay and less stress, making it hard for the care sector to compete.
Care providers have tried many solutions, like job boards, referrals, and social media ads, but nothing seems to work for long. Some are paying temporary worker agencies a lot more money to fill last-minute shifts. Since February, when the government added Health and Care jobs to the shortage occupation list, some providers have started hiring workers from other countries. They are finding success in filling jobs with overseas workers who want to come to the UK.
Is the problem solved? Not really. The process of hiring international workers is complicated and expensive. Many providers spend over £5,000 on lawyers to get a sponsor license and another £1,500 for each worker. Recruiters charge another £3,000 to £5,000 to find good staff. Providers get many applications from overseas workers, but because they can’t check if they are qualified, they rely on recruiters to make sure the workers have the right experience.
There is also a dark side to this industry. Some unethical recruiters charge workers up to £10,000 to connect them with a care provider with a sponsor license. These workers often sell everything and take on huge debts to come here. Sometimes the recruiters fulfill their promises, but sometimes they don’t.
When there is a broken and exploitative market, someone needs to step in and build a better system. At Borderless, we’re developing technology to make the international recruitment of carers and nurses easier and fairer. Our platform lets care providers filter, select, and process visas without leaving their browser. We aim to eliminate the unethical practices that exploit carers, overcharge providers, and ultimately harm the care of the residents.
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