FORMER serving members of the armed forces and young people who have been in care themselves are to be offered the chance to develop a career in the care sector thanks to an innovative new scheme being pioneered by a leading Scottish care provider.

The new scheme, the Vocational Care Pathway, has been launched by Love@care, part of the Hamilton-based Love group and is aimed at care experienced young adults and veterans. Recent research found that more than 26% of veterans living in Scotland said they had found finding the right job very difficult.

Another study found that nine months after leaving school, 31% of care experienced people who were in care for part of the year are not in further or higher education, employment or training, compared to 7% of those who had not been in care.

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The Love group stated: “With people living longer, and an expansion in early learning and childcare, there is a higher demand for people to work in care in order to tackle the sector’s current understaffing crisis. “Currently, the number of vacancies in the care sector is growing, with the latest data from the Care Inspectorate indicating that 38% of services reported having vacancies, up 2% on the previous year. In addition, 45% of services with vacancies reporting problems filling them.

“This problem is set to be exacerbated by Brexit which could lead to lower levels of immigration to Scotland. EU nationals account for 5.6% of staff in the care sector currently, with 42% of care services recruitment overseas coming from the EU.”

In the Vocational Care Pathway programme, participants will enter an SQA–accredited education programme and then begin a Modern Apprenticeship which will evolve into guaranteed employment within LOVE@care and affiliate organisations, with opportunities for promotion and career growth.

Since Love is a social business, the programme is funded by existing contracts and other corporate services the company offers, translating into no cost for young people looking to get involved.

Lynn Bell, chief executive of the Love group, said: “We are operating in a sector with a major disparity between number of care workers and the demand for those services. At the same time, we provide support to care experienced young people and veterans through other programmes we organise.

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“Marrying up care experienced young adults and veterans with employment opportunities within the care sector therefore just seemed a natural thing to do and is a ‘win-win’ for both parties.

“With the Vocational Care Pathway we provide education and training, allowing these individuals to gain the qualifications to move through the ranks of the care sector and help establish this as their career of choice.”

Love’s outreach programmes include education, employability, social care, and physical health.