Cambridgeshire to recruit retirees

A scheme to recruit retired people aged up to
70 to work as home care assistants is to be launched by
Cambridgeshire social services.

Recruits to the “Silver Service” will
initially carry out tasks other than personal care, such as heating
meals, clearing up, and driving. But they will be offered training
to become fully qualified home carers if they wish.

Adult services manager Lee Stribling said
recruits would not need to have a background in care work but
because of their age were likely to have experience of looking
after family members and will have an affinity with older people
who make up the majority of clients.

“They are likely to be people who have retired
but still feel they have a lot to give and want to work for a few
hours a week,” said Stribling.

The council had initially operated the scheme
in partnership with independent sector providers but will launch an
in-house initiative later this month.

It hopes to recruit an initial 30 people in
Cambridge which is experiencing the county’s most severe staff
shortages. The scheme faces competition from supermarkets and DIY
stores who are actively recruiting older workers.

The council has already been contacted by
several other local authorities which are interested in launching
their own schemes to help solve their recruitment problems.

– Cambridgeshire also hopes to boost care
staff recruitment through a modern apprenticeship scheme for 16 to
23-year-olds launched earlier this year providing apprenticeships
and national vocational qualification training.

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