1. APPRENTICESHIPS AND VALUES BASED RECRUITMENT

2. The Suffolk Brokerage has recently launched a new recruitment support service for adult social care employers called Care Careers Suffolk This service aims to support employers in a number ways and assist with the recruitment of : Experienced staff Individuals who are new to the sector Apprentices

3. Care Careers Suffolk has a dedicated Project Coordinator who oversees the day to day running and county wide promotion of the service, and is also supported by a team of I Care Ambassadors who help raise the profile of careers within the sector

4. As part of the recruitment service we: Advertise widely on Suffolk Jobs Direct, in the local press and community publications Attend job fairs and community and national events Hold our own information and recruitment events which as an employer you can attend to promote your vacancies Attend careers fairs at all Suffolk high schools and colleges Work closely with Job Centre Plus and other agencies We are also currently developing a Care Careers Suffolk website, social media and further literature to promote the service

5. Selection Process Once we have met with potential applicants and spoken to them about their interest in a role within social care, and assessed if they are job ready, we then: Interview them with a values based approach, discussing not only any experience they may have, and which part of the sector they may like to work in, but importantly what their values and understanding of providing excellent care means Ask candidates to complete ‘A Question of Care’ which is an interactive video challenge that focusses on different scenarios they may face within various care settings

6. A Question of Care is designed to give people who are considering work in the care sector an insight into what this involves, through video clips of day to day situations. It also gives them a way of checking their own suitability as they answer questions based on the video clips or characters featured in them. The questions are designed to test out qualities that are important when working with adults and young people http://www.aquestionofcare.org.uk/

9. Once we have completed this selection process, we then signpost applicants that we think may be suitable to employers who have asked us to assist them with recruitment Another valuable part of the service, especially for people new to the sector, is that we will pay for a DBS and support a voluntary work placement opportunity with the employer

10. Why provide a trial work placement? It offers the employer an opportunity to trial a new member of staff before they employ them, saving time and money on training if the individual decides it is not the correct choice for them

11. A further additional service is access to a mentor, which can be particularly useful for young Apprentices who are new to the world of work and social care, or new recruits who would benefit from additional support

12. The benefits to you as an employer of using this free recruitment service: No advertising or recruitment costs Applicants are pre-screened through a robust selection process Applicants are job ready and have stated an interest in working in care Dedicated Project Coordinator to support both the employer and applicant Access to promote your vacancies at regular recruitment and careers events, and jobs fairs Access to a mentor Funded DBS checks to support work placements

13. Apprenticeships An increasingly effective way of recruiting new staff is to employ an Apprentice into your workforce, and train them to meet the needs of your particular care service We recruit Apprentices in exactly the same way as any other applicant, with the additional support of accessing apprenticeship training, and also in many cases funding to support this training

14. We recruit Apprentices throughout the year, and they can be of any age, but the vast majority of Apprentices are school or college leavers aged between 16-19 years of age and commence an apprenticeship once when they have left school or college straight after they have taken their exams If a young person is interested in starting an apprenticeship once they have left school or college we invite them to attend a summer cohort for young people, which acts as an additional part of the selection process and is called a ‘Care Academy’

15. Care Academy A Care Academy consists of one to two weeks of classroom attendance where potential Apprentices will: Undertake a moving and handling awareness course Undertake Employability Skills training to help prepare them for the world of work Meet care professionals who are the ‘real face of the sector‘, to discuss what it is really like to work in care, find out about different job roles, and explore career progression

16. Attending a Care Academy provides us with a further valuable selection tool, in assessing if the potential Apprentice is: Reliable and attends all parts of the Care Academy Has demonstrated an understanding of care work and interacted well with care professionals And gives us the opportunity to work with them and assess which part of the sector they may be best suited to working in

17. The Apprentices that we recruit normally undertake the L2 Intermediate Health and Social Care Apprenticeship framework which consists of 6 components

19. If an Apprentice is aged between: 16-18 years of age the qualification is fully funded 19-24 years of age there is normally an employer contribution of 50% of the qualification Over the age of 24 and the cost of qualification is to be fully met by the employer In some cases we may be able to access fully funded apprenticeships and we look at this on an individual basis

20. There may also be other funding available to support your employment of an Apprentice including: A grant of £1500 per apprentice you employ if you are an employer with less than 50 employees, subject to criteria Funding accessed via The Suffolk Brokerage, through the Skills for Care Workforce Development Fund, subject to completion of NMDS and additional criteria

21. An Apprentice has the same employee rights as any other employee but must be: Employed for either a minimum of 30 hours a week for at least a year to complete their apprenticeship, or 16 hours a week over the course of 18 months Be paid the minimum current apprenticeship wage of £2.73 an hour, although many employers pay more than this Receive the same induction training and support as any other employee, with additional time within the workplace to be assessed and complete their qualification The Apprentice can be supernumerary or part of your existing workforce Offered an interview if the apprenticeship has been successful

22. Apprenticeships offer employers an affordable way to employ new staff who can be trained to the specific requirements of their care setting, are keen to learn, and wish to develop their skills and experience within the sector Many school and college leavers have already undertaken health and social care qualifications at school and college and just need an opportunity to gain practical experience to progress within the sector

23. We are also hoping to offer a Rotational Apprenticeship scheme this summer, in partnership with the NHS and Suffolk County Council. This scheme would mean that an Apprentice would experience a community healthcare setting, an acute healthcare setting and a social care setting throughout a one year health and social care apprenticeship. This would result in a fully trained individual who has multi faceted experience and is able to bring knowledge of all sectors to their future employers.

24. If you are interested in using the recruitment service that we provide, would like to find out more about employing an Apprentice, or would like to join our I Care Ambassador Service which is the largest in England, please contact the Project Coordinator Emma White Tel 01449 720400 or 07483 124628 Email: emma.white@suffolkbrokerage.co.ukemma.white@suffolkbrokerage.co.uk We always work with employers on an individual basis to offer a bespoke service