Recruiters line up special care team to address skills shortfall

International recruitment firm, Hays Plc, has launched a new arm to address the shortage of clinically-skilled social care candidates.

It has launched its new specialism, Hays Health and Social Care, and appointed John Faraguna as its managing director. He has joined from NHS Professionals, where he was chief executive. Prior to that, Mr Faraguna was chief operating officer for NHS Shared Business Service.

Mr Faraguna’s focus will be to deliver ‘very rapid and significant growth’ in the sector, which Hays believe is affected by a ‘chronic shortage of skilled candidates across the world’.

Part of its remit will also be to place candidates internationally, where skills shortages exist. The firm has recruited a ‘global resourcing team’ to achieve this.

Chief executive of Hays Plc, Alistair Cox, said: ‘Recruitment specialists already play an important role in the health and social care industry, and I believe this will continue to expand as organisations seek better, more cost-effective ways of recruiting, employing and retraining their key assets.’

The group placed 80,000 candidates into permanent jobs between 2007 and 2008, and around 300,000 into temporary posts.