What were the recruitment market trends over the past 6 month for Elderly Care division?

We have seen the occupancy of care homes bounce back significantly from the aftermath of Covid lockdowns and this has therefore seen companies have more funds to re-evaluate their business needs and reinvest in their care homes. Other than the market bounce back in a post-Covid / living with Covid world, which had been expected, there has been no significant changes within the care industry markets. One trend that we have seen is the number of people leaving roles and therefore leaving more vacancies open. This had been expected in the aftermath of the pandemic.

If so, what reasons were there for this?

With the impact of the pandemic on the care sector, the industry as a whole has learnt a lot in this time about how to deal with these kinds of events and how it can adapt. We are currently seeing a skills shortage within the industry due to a mass exodus of staff over the double vaccination policy that the government implemented last year.

Although it was later scrapped, it came in too late for many that had made the decision to leave or had already left the sector altogether. This has resulted in us seeing a lot of the care industry relying on agency staff.

What advice would you give to job seekers based on current market conditions?

Our advice would be to thoroughly research the industry as a whole and the kind of organisations you intend to work for. Examine their Covid handling and their strategy for dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic and their ‘living with Covid’ strategy. Organisations with high agency staff usage would be best to avoid due to no stability in the people you potentially could be working with.

Have client expectations changed at all? Any demands for a certain skill set at present?

We haven’t seen significant changes in expectations from clients other than that there is a demand to be less risk-averse than perhaps there was pre-pandemic. Previous experience within a care sector role has become much more favoured over qualifications when recruiting for new roles. This change has come from the impact that the early days of Covid had on the sector and specifically relates to compliance and strategy experience.

What successes have the Elderly Care division seen as a result of the past six months?

The Elderly Care division, here at Compass, has seen a record number of transactions and placements. We have also recorded a significant increase in clients and candidates wanting to use our services. As we’re a specialist recruiter, with experience and having won a number of awards, this has been invaluable for our reputation with gaining new clients and candidates alike.

In terms of headcount, we’ve seen the team increase due to the demand for our services. This headcount increase has allowed us to create a new desk that can focus on the domiciliary care and retirement living market, something we have planned in expanding further into. It has also allowed us to gain extra consultants to provide support within specific markets and regions so we can ensure that we provide the same quality service.

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