Information for employers
Proud to Care South Gloucestershire is being co-ordinated by South Gloucestershire Council and is part of the Proud to Care South West campaign, aimed to support providers with recruitment and retention.
The regional and local Proud to Care campaigns direct people to the Proud to Care South Gloucestershire website. The site has been set up so that job seekers are able to search for providers within their local area. This process also directs users to your website job pages, allowing them to directly apply for current vacancies within your organisation.
In addition to support with recruitment, the Proud to Care team also provide retention support via signposting to training opportunities, wellbeing events and tools to support value-based recruitment and retention.
BNSSG Sponsorship Recruitment Scheme - New Scheme for Care Providers
Care and Support West are working with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils to offer support and advice to local care providers who have sponsor licences, or are in the process of applying.
Over recent months, Care and Support West has spoken to a number of providers who have sponsor licenses. From their feedback, many benefits were apparent. However, they also identified some challenges which highlighted that support is needed for both care providers and international workers.
In view of this, we have worked with our local BNSSG councils to put together a scheme which will give care providers who have a sponsor licence, or who have applied for one, access a range of offers to support for themselves and their international workers.
It will also provide ongoing feedback from care providers to Care and Support West and the three councils to help ensure that the support being offered is the most relevant and useful it could be.
Sponsorship Recruitment - Masterclass Webinar Series
We are pleased to confirm further sessions in the 2025 series designed specifically for care providers looking to start, expand and remain compliant in sponsorship recruitment. All sessions are free to attend and are run in collaboration with BNSSG and Borderless;
- Wednesday 30th April – 10:00am – 11:30am ‘Latest updates on Sponsorship for the Care Sector – Certificate of sponsorship (CoS) Masterclass’
- Wednesday 21st May – 10:00am – 11:30am ‘Getting started with Sponsorship (for those who are thinking about sponsorship or are new to it)’
- Wednesday 25th June 10:00 – 11:30am ‘Latest Updates on Sponsorship for the Care Sector – Compliance Masterclass’
Cultural Awareness Training
Cultural Awareness Training sessions organised by Bristol City Council and run by ASH training have been running for the last couple of months, and we are pleased to announce further dates for your diary.
These sessions are great for your sponsored care workers who may be newly arrived in the UK, or have recently started working in a care setting locally. It is a full day of training (9:30 for 10am start until 16:30) covering a range of topics such as care values, good communication skills, good record keeping, and how to deliver care with dignity and respect.
Feedback from the sessions held so far:
“I learned a lot in this training and it gives me more understanding about the topic which improved my knowledge especially supporting people with Dementia and this also made me feel competent and I’m looking forward to applying in my role.”
South Gloucestershire
24th April 2025 – 09.30-16.30
Olive Leaf Health & Homecare, Laurel House, Bradley Stoke BS32 4QW
*More dates are planned in the next few months and these will be announced soon.*
Employers Pack
In this pack we summarise:
- Proud to Care: recent and planned campaigns
- Market research: insight into what job seekers are looking for
- Resources: suggestions, materials and templates to help you market your vacancies using the power of your own social networks.
Why is retention so important within social care?
Skills for Care identified five factors that are key to retaining adult social care staff. They are:
- Being paid more than the minimum wage
- Not being on a zero-hours contract
- Being able to work full time
- Being able to access training
- Having a relevant qualification.
Where none of these factors apply, care workers are more than twice as likely to leave their jobs than when all five factors apply – a 48.7% turnover rate compared with 20.6%. Implementing these factors should make it easier for the people who love what they do to stay, by improving terms and conditions and investing in their career development.
What is value-based recruitment?
Value-based recruitment is an approach which focusses on recruiting people with values, behaviours and attitudes that align with those of the workplace.
View the Skills for Care, values – based recruitment toolkilt.
Values-based recruitment (skillsforcare.org.uk)
For tailored support, contact Skills for Care South Glos Locality Manager’ , Skills for Care locality manager covering South Gloucestershire.
How can I help to develop employees skills?
Investing in your people and nurturing their talents will help you tackle skills gaps and recruit and retain the right people. Skills West is a partnership between Business West and Western Training Provider Network (WTPN). Skills advisors provide free, impartial advice and can help negotiate the right training for your business, including access to government funding incentives.
Skills for Care can also provide advice and link you up with government workforce development funding. Contact Skills for Care South Glos Locality Manager’ for details.
Inspiring the next generation
Only 10% of the adult social care workforce is under twenty five. There are a range of opportunities to challenge misconceptions and attract more young people with the right values into care.
- Free, impartial Apprenticeship advice from Skills West
- Graduate Management Programme on Skills for Care
We work closely with local universities and education providers to encourage students to choose care and support work to supplement their income. By providing opportunities for students over evenings, weekends and holiday periods, you will be gaining a committed workforce that is willing to work when others ask for time off.
Provider form
If you would like your organisation to feature on the Proud to Care search function, click on the tab to access the application form which you will need to submit to us. Once we update the site with your details, users will be able to access your live vacancies, directly via your website.