ACI Care fills skills gap with overseas workers

Care homes group ACI Care is sponsoring overseas workers to work in its homes in the South East.

ACI Care, which operates four care homes specialising in residential, respite, and dementia care, is offering Certificates of Sponsorship to overseas workers, with the aim of decreasing its use of agency staff by 70 per cent.

The Certificate of Sponsorship is open to both overseas workers and those within the UK who require a visa, including those coming to the end of their studies on a student visa and those who have already been sponsored by another employer in the UK. Launched last year, the new visa makes it easier to sponsor staff from other countries while also providing an exemption from the healthcare surcharge.

Already, ACI has sponsored 20 staff members with qualifications including a master’s in business administration and pharmaceutical sciences, degrees in nursing and pharmacy, and diplomas in nursing and midwifery.

Ravi Sodha, director of ACI Care, said: “While we prioritise hiring staff local to our care homes to help benefit the local community, the current staffing shortage means we also have to look to overseas sponsorship. This process allows for new experiences, approaches and cultures, to ensure consistent and high-quality care for our residents across all homes.

“Unlike some sponsorship programmes, we don’t require our sponsored workers to sign contracts stating a minimum term to work with us. We believe that by creating the best working environment possible, the staff we sponsor will want to stay with ACI long-term without the need for contractual obligations.”

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