Care firm merger set to create 100 new jobs
By News Wales
A CARE firm formed from the merger of two established companies is set to create 100 new jobs over the next 12 months.
Abacaredig will provide home carers across North Wales after the major expansion.
The firm was formed by the coming together of Caredig Care Agency, in Bangor, and Colwyn Bay based Abacare.
Abacaredig now employs a total of 243 staff but plan to increase staff levels to 350 over the next year.
Managing director Peter Angelides said they were very confident about the future and the only concern they had was attracting sufficient new staff.
Earlier this year the Daily Post revealed up to 25,000 care jobs could be created in North Wales over the next two decades due to an ageing population with chronic health conditions.
The sector is already worth £1billion to the local economy.
Abacare had already seen rapid expansion over the four years the company has been established – and has taken on more than 75 additional staff over the past year.
Peter said: “With the merger we are at 243 staff and we want to be at 350 in 12 months time.
“This is from existing positions to need to fill and new contracts we are going after.
“There is now more emphasis on providing care at home and also there is an ageing population, which is part of the reason for the growth.
“The big problem is recruitment, getting people involved in this industry.
“It is not for everyone but for those with the calling it is a very rewarding career and I feel we do pay well, it is not a minimum wage job.
“This merger has increased the reach of the company, we now cover from Chester to Powys.”
He added: “Last year Abacare set out to create 100 new jobs in North Wales when many larger businesses were reducing their workforce.
“At Abacare we saw this as an opportunity to bring new people into a sector that offers competitive salaries, training and a rewarding end of day feeling because of the type of work our team deliver to elderly, less able bodied and sometimes complex needs people.
“As a result of this major objective, we sought ways to grow our critical mass and expand in new areas to enhance our already very successful business.
“We met with Ellis Wyn and Iola Jones who owned Caredig Care Agency.
“They operated another very successful and highly regarded agency that had been in business for over 13 years in North Wales. We quickly realised we wanted the same things as our morals and standards were identical. So we set about thinking of how we could merge Abacare and Caredig, and on September 20 we completed the deal.
“We are now working towards a joint registration for care under our umbrella company – Abacaredig. This now means we operate from Chester over to Anglesey and down to Powys.
“We have lots of new and exciting vacancies as the combined business is stronger than ever and has brought together a wealth of knowledge. This has already resulted in increased business every day.”
Mario Kreft, the chair of Care Forum Wales, estimates that between 25,000 and 30,000 people are employed in social care in North Wales and that he expected that to significantly increase because of demographics. He believes that over the next 20 years the social care workforce on the region could double and employ 50,000.
He said: “We are going to need a lot more highly skilled people and they will be a positive economic driver in their communities.”
Over the last 50 years, from 1960 t0 2010, the average life span has increased by around 10 years for a man and eight years for a woman.
Meanwhile the number of people living to 100 in England and Wales has risen five-fold, from 2,280 in 1980 to 11,610 in 2010.