Strengthening Care Across BSW
International Recruitment, Educational Outreach and Workforce Sustainability work across Bath & North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire is focused on strengthening how the care sector attracts, supports and retains its workforce in a more connected and sustainable way. A key part of this is building strong relationships with care providers holding sponsorship licences, while also developing a clearer, more accurate picture of the international workforce across the region. Alongside this sits a strong emphasis on integration and belonging, working with community, faith and voluntary partners to ensure international recruits are not only placed into roles but are properly supported to settle and feel part of local life.
There is also a growing education and further education focus, with increasing engagement in colleges and on campuses to help students gain a grounded, realistic understanding of careers in care. This includes helping learners see providers as distinct organisations in their own right – each with their own culture, values and opportunities – rather than viewing adult social care as a single, uniform sector. Alongside this, there are ongoing projects both internal and with partners around emerging “career hub” models, exploring how more coordinated, place-based approaches to care careers and progression could develop, and where WCP might sit within that landscape.
Creating a sustainable workforce
The work is beginning to widen its lens beyond international recruitment alone, recognising the increasing pressures within that route and the need for more resilient, forward-looking workforce strategies. This includes supporting providers to think more holistically about recruitment, retention and long-term stability – areas which are still not consistently prioritised across the sector, despite their importance to sustainability. It also links into continued work around displaced worker pools and how outcomes can be better understood and tracked, as well as revisiting opportunities to bring providers and individuals together in more meaningful and consistent ways, whether virtually or in person.
Much of the insight comes through ongoing engagement with providers, listening to their experience of what is useful on the ground, where the gaps are, and how the support offer can evolve. This is complemented by continued attention to operational pressures such as SMS and visa processing delays, where clearer communication and more realistic turnaround times remain important to improving overall system flow and reducing friction for providers and recruits alike.
