To expect the UK's 1 million unemployed to get a job as a Care Worker?

[SquireOfGreenway]

The number of people unemployed in the UK is just over 1 million - the lowest it's been since the early 1970s. However, we should still surely expect that figure to be even lower.

From next year, it may be much harder for care-providing organisations to recruit European migrants to fill their Care Worker vacancies.

Surely, it is reasonable to expect any UK resident who is unemployed, claiming job-seekers allowance and so far unable to get a job to be required to get a job as a Care Worker? If they don't then they should be sanctioned and lose their state benefits.

I am not just talking about Care Work. I am talking about all minimum-wage and minimum-wage plus jobs that we have been relying on European migrants to fill.

Why not? There will always be maybe a few 100,000s unemployed, as people move from one job to another, etc. But why should there be a million unemployed people if there is a shortage of workers in any industry that does not require any great level of pre-entry qualifications?

@ChardonnaysDistantCousin I never said a bloody word about the nationality of my dads carers so don’t bring me into your argument - all I want for my dad is people caring for him who want to be there because they care about people, not because they have in effect been told they have to or they are left out to dry.

@ChardonnaysDistantCousin No, I don’t have any contempt for working people. I work my arse off every day.

No she sad working class... not working people.

Sorry, working class it is so hen, not working people.

I’m foreign, I don’t share your obsession with class. Apologies.

I’m foreign, I don’t share your obsession with class. Apologies

Not an obsession, but those of us from working class fa ilies sometimes have to work extra hard because we don’t have the money or chances others do.

At my mums care home it’s a split of nationalities and those people want to help those living with brain injuries. Should any unemployed person do it? No, they wouldn’t have the training or care.
Every staff member there is happy and after three years of hospitals and rehabilitation places to get her care I’m pretty qualified to talk about the level of respect these people deserve to get.

Have you even thought about this? People are made redundant all the time, doesn’t mean they are using the benefits system as a lifestyle as opposed to a lifeline, hopefully you will never be in that position having to take up care work for ends to meet as I don’t think I’d want you to be looking after any relative of mine that needed care

I work in a care home as a registered nurse. I find your post really offensive!! All our carers are amazing hard working and compassionate.....they deserve so much respect and actually do care about the residents despite their shitty wage !! Am actually furious thinking about the horrific 12 hour shift they had today 🤯😳🤯

I am not just talking about Care Work. I am talking about all minimum-wage and minimum-wage plus jobs that we have been relying on European migrants to fill.

I'm baffled by this statement. I've worked in minimum wage jobs all my life and I also lived in an area of traditional high immigration. Most of my colleagues have been from the UK.

Where do people get this idea that large numbers of people who work as carers or work at minimum wage jobs are from abroad?

As a disabled person who receives 4 hours of local authority care per week (but needs 12+) please don’t send just anybody to help me! Please?!

Care work is undervalued & underpaid. Hopefully cutting off the supply of migrant workers will address this & see the raising of standards & wages that employees deserve. It's not a job I could do & I'm in absolute awe at people who do it well & love their work. I hope more of the hefty profits from care are directed to them in the future rather than executives. That'll naturally attract more people & make it the viable career option that it should be.

....& while I'm on my soap box, carers allowance should be a much higher rate too!

@ChardonnaysDistantCousin

Selective quoting at its best! i said you cannot compare people willing to move abroad for work with the long term unemployed, these people tend to be highly motivated.
Bit arrogant of you to dismiss someone (DD's) who works in care of their view.

Care work requires certain type of person, its not a job anyone can do... there is also a shortage of healthcare workers in many countries around the world as populations age, care workers included.

If your argument was that (generally) UK unemployed can pick fruit or pack fish, then yes i'd agree.

The news, flaxmeadow. Everything I've seen recently suggests over 15%, and even while we still have free movement there are thousands of unfilled vacancies.

Also I think we've established by now that chardonnay doesn't understand the issue.

Well, OP, you voted for Brexit, as you told us in another thread. You knew what you were voting for. Not having someone to wipe your arse when you’re old is one of the sacrifices you’ll have to pay for that “freedom” you wanted.

Care work is undervalued & underpaid. Hopefully cutting off the supply of migrant workers will address this & see the raising of standards & wages that employees deserve

Hopefully Sums up Brexit , What if it doesn't?

There are 10s of 1000s of vacancies right now yet wages are not growing! and as can be seen by Patels attitude, they aren't seen as "skilled" at all.
A rather worrying statistic.....
If the adult social care workforce grows proportionally to the projected number of people aged 65 and over in the population then the number of adult social care jobs will increase by 36% (580,000 jobs) to around 2.2 million jobs by 2035

No, I'm just at issue from a different angle.

Looking from

The problem is here, it will get worse and shifting it to be done by low paid migrants is not going to make it go away.

The angle you're taking is different because its incorrect.

The problem is here, it will get worse and shifting it to be done by low paid migrants is not going to make it go away

I hear you Chardonnay - and I agree it's a problem that we have to get our heads round.

You say that the if the unemployed wanted to do it then they would have done it anyway and that I’m looking for solutions in an unmotivated group of people.

That’s a bit patronising towards them and it world also mean that there is no point in offering them any further courses or educational opportunities.

That’s a bit patronising towards them and it world also mean that there is no point in offering them any further courses or educational opportunities.

Yes, and?

There are people who aren't capable of holding down a job, and others who would cost much more for the support and enforcement they'd require than they will contribute. It doesn't matter whether you find this fact patronising, it's still true.

You are correct to conclude that this means in many cases, offering further education or courses isn't going to make them suddenly work suitable. It also means that obliging them to take work as vulnerable carers isn't a good idea. This isn't the case for everyone who is unemployed, but the numbers of people in the category OP mentioned isn't high, because our benefits system over the past few years hasn't let it be.

YABVU. No thank you, I don't want my vulnerable relative being cared for by someone who has been forced into the job and who despises it and the people they care for. I've spent a lot of time visiting relatives in care homes and have met many amazing workers who are so caring and kind and seeing the work they do for the wages they get is inspiring. I most certainly couldn't do that job. There are too many vulnerable people out there for your solution of shove all the unemployed into care work jobs. Care home residents deserve care and compassion and I for one was comforted knowing that my relative with dementia had this type of care. It is heartbreaking having to make the decision to put a relative into a nursing home.
You did mention other jobs later in your post but you primarily said care work. I doubt you'll get many people agreeing with you. People should always take jobs they are able to do. I think care work takes a special type of person and I believe the issues we've seen in the news of abuse of vulnerable people comes from what you are suggesting, people taking jobs because they are there and available but not really wanting to do it. Your post has made me quite cross but I suspect because it is raw for me.

I haven't read the while thread but stupid idea. Not only do you have to have certain qualities to be a care worker the companies treat you like shit. My friend is a home carer. She has 2 children aged 2 and 6. The company she was working for threatened to sack her because they phoned her at 5am expecting her to get up and cover someone who had called in sick. She told them she couldn't as her husband was leaving for work and there would be nobody to watch her children at that time in the morning. Also it was her day off.

Estimates of non-UK workers in the care industry put the figure at around 15-16%, which means 84-85% are UK nationals. This means there are in the region of 1.4 million British people working in care work in the UK, compared to about 250000 non-UK workers.

That seems to be quite a few UK nationals who have the rare combination of skills needed for this role who aren't already in other healthcare positions (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists etc), and aren't in other non-health related careers. This suggests to me that we could easily have reached the limit of UK nationals who are suitable for caring work.

I'm currently "economically inactive". I'm waiting for 3 different operations, and even after those I will be limited to desk work only. I can't claim any benefits at all because I have a very small pension coming in, I'm single with no dependents, and I have my own (mortgaged) house. There is no way I would be physically able to carry out ANY of these jobs suggested by Priti. Equally I will not be able to draw any form of disability long term, because each of my various conditions seems to be just below the threshold when taken in isolation despite when added together they make life very hard.

I am not just talking about Care Work. I am talking about all minimum-wage and minimum-wage plus jobs that we have been relying on European migrants to fill.

So, unemployed people should...

...get jobs?

Fucking genius idea! Whitehall beckons!

surely it requires a high level of empathy, people skills & tolerance.

Yes I think the majority of us have this. The ability to nurture children requires these attributes and we learn along the way.

I think minimum wage is the root of the problem. A job/career as a carer shouldn't be minimum wage.

chardonnays I agree with you. All of MN it seems thinks that people coming to the UK 'love' care work and other jobs that Brits don't for whatever reason want to do.
I don't see why we should assume that other people want to do jobs that Brits think they're too good for.
I thought the age of colonialism was long gone. Clearly not. It's quite arrogant of British people to assume that people of a different race/colour will do jobs they feel they are too good for.
So maybe it's a good thing that people who come to Britain will have proper jobs to come to rather than being ripped off doing fruit picking, washing cars etc.