CAMDEN Council secretly flew officials to the United States and Canada in a mission to find social workers, documents unearthed by the New Journal reveal.
Details of the expedition forced a new admission by council chiefs that they have struggled to recruit top quality social workers.
Their hunt for staff took a global twist last April when senior council officials were sent to North America in a bid to encourage social workers to take on unfilled jobs in Camden.
The Town Hall said last night (Wednesday) that American and Canadian social workers were “highly qualified” and suited to the problems commonly faced by Camden’s social services department.
Evidence of the international recruitment drive have only been placed in the public domain following requests made by this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act. Documents seen by the New Journal show how three officials flew to Chicago, New York and Toronto, stopping to interview potential new recruits in each city. Travel and accommodation cost the council nearly £5,000.
Yesterday (Wednesday), a press official heralded the trip as a success, revealing that 12 social workers had been brought to Camden as a result of the five-day trip.
He said: “There is a chronic shortage of qualified social workers in the UK. The problem is particularly acute in central London, where the high cost of living and challenging work mean make it harder to recruit and retain staff. We targeted American and Canadian social workers because they are highly qualified and likely to have had similar experiences to the challenges they would face in Camden. During that trip 14 job offers were made, with staff eventually successfully recruited.”
It is unclear whether the trip will be repeated. The council’s spokesman said a new ‘Grow Your Own’ scheme of training and staff development was now in place, alongside a more attractive pay structure for staff.
He added: “Recruiting staff from America and Canada, is only part of Camden Council’s strategy to ensure that it has the staff we needs to provide a high quality of social care for adults and children.
Recent increases to pay and other benefits mean the council is now one of the best payers in London. We are also running innovative schemes to ensure we can invest in our staff and ensure they remain working at Camden longer.”