The work behind an international pilot aimed at tackling recruitment challenges in the social care sector has been praised by a senior official.

Staff have arrived from overseas as part of the programme that strives to address vacancies in adult social care, which are being experienced nationally at the moment.

Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and Renfrewshire Council have been participating in the initiative led by the Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland.

It has been confirmed three people travelled from South Africa in May and have been undertaking induction and onboarding for employment in the Care at Home service. A fourth person arrived in early June.

Chief officer Christine Laverty provided an update on the pilot at the recent meeting of the integration joint board (IJB), the body responsible for oversight of the HSCP.

She said: “I wanted to highlight our international recruitment. We have been working closely with colleagues in the council and it’s an excellent example of collaborative work that we’re now beginning to see international recruitment and people coming through who are now delighted to be working within social care in Renfrewshire. That’s a good development for us.”

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Further detail on the programme was also included in a report by the chief officer, which IJB members considered on Friday.

It said: “The aim of the project is to test approaches which can help address the recruitment challenges facing adult social care nationally.

“Through the pilot process, an international recruitment agency was appointed to source suitably experienced and qualified candidates internationally for interview by HSCP staff and to support the completion of pre-employment checks (including overseas convictions) and travel booking.

“This resulted in four people being offered permanent employment to our Care at Home service.

“On May 8, three of the four people arrived from South Africa and have been settling into their new surroundings while undertaking induction and onboarding.

“The fourth person to be recruited arrived in early June and will progress onboarding alongside their colleagues.

“The service has put in place a buddy scheme with additional support provided via local community support networks.

“The pastoral support process will seek to minimise the impact of social isolation and the psychological impact of migration.”

The pilot is a grant-funded project which has been ongoing since last autumn.