Tuesday 5 October 2010

No Longer Coming Over Here, Taking Our Jobs...

Councils are being prevented from hiring vitally needed social workers from outside the European Union after the introduction of a temporary immigration cap.
What's that? Why would we need to do this? What about all our sociology graduates?
A national shortage of qualified social workers was identified last year in Lord Laming's inquiry into child protection failures. Local authorities say non-EU social workers are desperately needed until new UK training initiatives produce enough staff to meet the skills shortage.
Presumably, the need for non-EU workers is because of the language barrier? Yet most EU workers speak better English than some of our recent graduates!
Coventry city council was turned down this month for certificates of sponsorship for "tier 2" skilled social workers. It wanted to recruit seven workers from the US and Canada.
Hmmm. I wonder...

The US and Canada is likely to have social workers just as keen as ours on trendy left-wing theories. Is that the attraction?
Colin Green, an ADCS policy committee chairman and Coventry's director of children's services, said: "The evidence is that councils have been rejected for work permits since the introduction of the interim cap. There were no reported problems before July.

"The difficulty is in recruiting experienced social workers. Government initiatives may increase the supply in the long term, but not in the short term. There are more jobs and the supply has not kept up. This is a national issue, these are high-pressure jobs and it is difficult to retain people in certain positions."
Well, when youu have leadership of the calibre of the woeful Sharon Shoesmith, it's no wonder your only hope is to recruit people who might not have heard of the case!
The British Association of Social Workers has also raised concerns to the Commons' home affairs select committee inquiry considering next year's immigration cap.

Of recruiting non-EU social workers, it states: "It is clear from evidence supplied by our members that a considerable number of local authorities have replied upon the recruitment of social workers to plug gaps. ...There is compelling evidence of the importance of overseas social workers to critical areas of child care."
Perhaps you should forget the insistance on Canadian and American social workers, steeped as they are in the loony-left culture, and recruit a few Polish ones for a change?

Who knows. The quality of the decision making might improve. After all, it could hardly go downhill, could it?

6 comments:

Bobski said...

It's all because they took our jobs or some reason like that.

I never get protectionist attitudes, they are ultimately self-defeating.

NickM said...

Tell ya a story. A mate of mine at school's mum was a social shirker. Around when the lad was sixteen a baby shot of him appeared in the local papers in a drive to increase adoption rates. Able-bodied white kid quite attractive looking as a kid if you know what I mean - I don't mean it in the Gary Glitter sense. Exactly the sort of kid that the SS have no trouble shifting. Complete waste of time, energy and money. Oh and Peter had his picture plastered over every wall in the school and almost died from Teenage Embarrasment Syndrome.

Roue le Jour said...

What splendid news! So the councils already employ all the loony left wing ideologues that there are, and can't find anymore from an EU of what is it? Half a billion people? So there must be fewer of them than feared. Good. And no, you can't import any from the new world. Now bugger off.

Roue le Jour said...

Sorry to double bubble, but reading the linked article made me realise I'm as naive as a babe in arms, because I assumed the whole point of restricting immigration to skilled individuals was so that we would get productive people, not highly skilled tax eaters. (Grows donkey ears and makes eeore sound.)

JuliaM said...

”I never get protectionist attitudes, they are ultimately self-defeating.”

Like socialism, those trying them reckon that this time, they'll get it right. This time...

”Complete waste of time, energy and money. Oh and Peter had his picture plastered over every wall in the school and almost died from Teenage Embarrasment Syndrome.”

I'm guessing they never sought permission, then?

”Good.”

Have to admit, that was my first reaction too.

”...I assumed the whole point of restricting immigration to skilled individuals was so that we would get productive people, not highly skilled tax eaters.”

You have now achieved enlightenment... ;)

moriarty said...

...There is compelling evidence of the importance of overseas social workers to critical areas of child care.

I assume that means that they'd like to have social workers who match the ethnic origin of the family.

Form what I've heard from an ex social worker, the management pressures makes it an absymal job.