People Resourcing Team - What we do

The People Resourcing Team undertake a vast amount of projects. Due to the way we are funded our primary aim is to support the Gloucestershire Care Sector. A great deal of work is already underway nationally & locally to encourage people into a career in care. We are working with independent care providers in Gloucestershire to ensure we have a well-resourced current and future workforce. However, the team is now expanding its aims and objectives by investigating, exploring and strategizing recruitment and retention initiatives to help the whole of the Council.

Some of the main projects we are involved in are detailed below:

Advertising is a major part of our team's efforts. Our aim with such advertising is to generally raise the profile of the Gloucestershire Care Sector but mainly generating queries for the Voluntary, Independent and Private Care providers. This is working towards building capacity in our workforce to be able to tackle the ever growing need in the county. Thus, huge investment has been placed in a variety of tried and tested recruitment methods with more innovative approaches and publicity materials to meet these aims. This includes using a variety of mediums and publications as well as attending various careers events. 

The Careers in Care Helpline, set up in January 2005, has handled over 1600 queries that have been generated by advertising and good news stories in the press.  This central point of contact provides information about careers in care and, working directly with contracted domiciliary care providers, provides recruitment leads to those recruiting in the care sector.  Through this helpline we have also built up links with the Children's Workforce Development Group.

The Gloucestershire Care Ambassador Scheme now has 25 ambassadors who have attended over 86 events since the scheme started in 2005.  Our Care Ambassadors will go to schools, colleges, careers fairs, neighbourhood projects, and care conventions - in fact anywhere where we believe that we can raise the profile of the Care Sector.

We also work in partnership with Stroud College and  run Care Taster sessions where participants can put on an ‘age suit' that restricts movement and use their skills in communication to feed someone who is blindfolded.  The sessions have now been expanded and include nutrition.   These sessions are always well received by adults and children alike and the Care Ambassadors also get a lot out of them.  Over 70 sessions have been run reaching over 1400 students and members of the public.

Transport has been identified as a barrier to recruitment by the sector's recruiting managers. The Jump2care scheme began in spring 2005, which was aimed at those interested in helping to care for others and looking to become part of the Gloucestershire Care workforce. Funding was made available via the Department of Health Strategy Grants.

The aim of this scheme is to aid recruitment for care provider organisations and employees for whom transport is not otherwise available or where local public transport does not meet the services' patterns of work.

The scheme provides the short-term loan of a scooter, power bike or bicycle, and also awards small grants or subsidies to help make the client's own vehicle roadworthy.

The team is heavily involved with and committed to partnership working. Not only do we work in partnership with our contracted care providers through the Care Sector Group we also work with other teams to help coordinate similar goals. For example, we work with the Partnership for Older People Project (POPP) to align recruitment and retention initiatives.