Procuring innovative solutions to safe international recruitment practice
A successful initiative to address workforce shortages in the health and care sector.
The challenge
The adult social care sector in the UK has faced significant challenges in maintaining a stable and skilled workforce. With an increasing demand for care services and a shortage of domestic workers, the sector has turned to international recruitment as a solution. However, this approach has brought challenges, including:
- ensuring ethical recruitment practices
- an administrative burden during international recruitment and ongoing compliance
- providing pastoral support for international recruits to improve integration and retention
The Department for Health and Social Care made £15m available for partnerships across England to fund solutions to these challenges.
The South East Care Association Alliance (SESCA) led the local partnership and sought a digital solution as part of its response to the challenge.
The solution
We were approached to act as the procuring authority for two project phases. In phase 1, we commissioned Lifted to:
- conduct initial market research with care providers
- analyse the current nature of international recruitment
- develop a design specification
In phase 2, Borderless Ltd. won a competitive tender to deliver a platform to enable faster, smoother, legally compliant recruitment of the international workforce.
As part of Oxfordshire County Council, we delivered a procurement approach that was compliant with local authority procurement regulations.
Borderless is delighted to be partnering with Oxfordshire County Council to deliver this ground breaking initiative. At Borderless – we believe in a world where borders are no longer barriers – anyone, anywhere should be able to move and work, seamlessly and safely, and that’s exactly the foresight we saw in the council’s tender.
The results
The platform was successfully rolled out, with uptake from multiple local care providers. This rollout led to:
- streamlined processes for providers reducing administrative burden, leading to faster onboarding times
- reduced workload and stress for existing staff
- positive feedback from both recruits and local providers on the integration process
- improved staffing levels in the health and care sector
- enhanced quality of care for patients