International recruitment fund
Consultation has concluded
The social care sector in the UK is facing significant challenges. As demand grows, many care providers are struggling to recruit and retain staff, particularly in the South-East.
SE ADASS and Oxfordshire County Council iHUB have been asked to develop a platform that helps social care providers in the South-East recruit internationally. To inform its development we spoke to service providers and used their feedback to create a hypothesis.
In July 2023 we ran a survey to test the hypothesis and identify key areas of priority.
You said:
The biggest barriers to international recruitment identified were:
- Compliance (SMS, ongoing compliance and visa support)
- Upfront cost
- Sourcing accommodation / access to vehicles
- Pastoral care
- Finding and evaluating the right candidates
- Recruitment timelines
We did:
The tender for a new platform has been written based on the needs identified in this research. The tender was published 9 October 2023.
Update (13 Feb 2024)
The South East Social Care Alliance (SESCA) and Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) are pleased to announce that their initiative to deliver an international recruitment system to better support care providers and migrant workers across the region has been awarded to Borderless, a fast growing technology company.
In February 2023, with the adult social care sector facing growing challenges related to the complexity of international recruitment, the UK Government announced a £15M fund to support care providers across England. The funding for this was made available from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) via the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
As part of this initiative, SESCA & OCC secured funding to create a portal accessible to all providers in the Southeast, with the intention of addressing the key priorities identified by care providers across the region, with barriers around Home Office compliance, high upfront costs and long recruitment timelines highlighted.
Following a successful procurement process, Oxfordshire County Council is excited to announce it has awarded this contract to Borderless.
“Their expertise and commitment, combined with their proven track record, robust technology and accessible and affordable pricing model will undoubtedly contribute to success - we’re looking forward to working with them on this project, which has the potential to deliver huge benefits to care providers across the entire South East,” said Stephanie Windle, the Digital Health & Care Lead at Oxfordshire County Councils Innovation Service.
“Borderless is delighted to be partnering with Oxfordshire County Council to deliver this groundbreaking initiative. At Borderless - we believe in a world where borders are no longer barriers. Anyone should be able to move and work anywhere, seamlessly and safely – this is exactly the foresight we saw in OCC’s tender,” said Matthew Bond, CEO & Co-Founder at Borderless
Borderless, a technology startup founded in 2022, is developing a migration platform that connects ambitious care workers across the globe with UK care providers – using technology to manage and streamline the entire sponsorship process.
Hiring migrant workers doesn’t have to involve expensive intermediaries. It doesn’t have to mean complex Home Office bureaucracy. And it doesn’t have to take months on end to complete.
Backed by leading care organisations and associations, fully compliant with regulatory bodies, Borderless is already working with more than 130 care providers across the UK - supporting with sponsor licence applications to ongoing recruitment, immigration and compliance processes. The platform makes everything fast, low-risk and low-cost, enabling businesses to take back control and focus time on their core activities.
To facilitate engagement and maximise opportunities for providers, Oxfordshire County Council and Borderless will be running a series of free introductory webinars in late February. If you are interested in learning more about how the platform can benefit your organisation, please register for the most convenient event below:
February 28th @ 11am OR February 29th @ 4pm
For further information, please contact Oxfordshire County Council (innovationhealthandcare@oxfordshire.gov.uk) or Borderless (hello@getborderless.co.uk)