International social workers in England: Factors influencing supply and demand

Recent years have seen considerable increases in the number of internationally-qualified social workers in England. This article presents trends in the international labour mobility of social workers migrating to work in England alongside information on the supply of UK-trained social workers. It concludes that demographic changes and policy imperatives have accentuated structural issues making it difficult to ensure an adequate supply in the number of domestically-trained social workers. We suggest that more cross-national research is needed to achieve a better understanding of the factors influencing social workers' decisions to work in international settings and the extent to which this reflects permanent or temporary migration between countries

Outsourcing the procurement of agency workers : the impact of vendor managed services in English social care

In recent years marked changes have occurred in the way employers recruit and select agency workers, with this activity increasingly being outsourced to third party organizations providing ‘vendor managed services’ (VMS). Drawing on data from a study of English social services, this article explores the consequences of this outsourcing. The findings reveal that although VMS has delivered cost savings, it has also resulted in less effective placement matching, rising line manager workloads and concerns about service quality. In the conclusion the wider implications of VMS for the future development of partnerships between employers and employment agencies are discussed

A case of mistaken identity The social welfare professions and New Public Management

Social welfare professions have been highly exposed to the corrosive effects of New Public Management (NPM) on professional identity and influence. In this article, I argue that ambivalence from within the social welfare professions, and in society more generally, towards professional recognition of these occupations enables NPM to enact an agenda of de-professionalization. Further, gendered assumptions about professional identity, and particularly about the caring professions in which there is a high concentration of women workers, are pivotal to the destabilization of the professional social welfare workforce. I draw on examples from the Queensland Department of Child Safety workforce reforms to illustrate how NPM discourse intersects with, and is enabled by, well-established ambivalence towards professional recognition within and outside the social welfare professions. I suggest that a gender analysis can deepen our understanding of the substantial impact of NPM on social welfare professions and can enable these professions to develop effective responses to the substantial threats they now face