Homecare provider Bluebird to add 370 roles in Ireland

The Irish division of homecare provider, Bluebird Care, is to begin recruiting for 370 new roles nationwide.

The company, which says it has encountered difficulty finding staff to work as homecare assistants, is also set to target stay-at-home parents thinking of returning to the workforce when their children go back to school.

“September is a good time for us to begin this recruiting,” said Brian MacGoey, the managing director and master franchise holder for Ireland.

“You have many parents with more time on their hands. They will already have some of the skills and could be suitable candidates. Come in and talk to us, we will will help you gain the experience and the training,” he said.

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The group, which entered the Irish market a decade ago, now has 1,600 staff providing in-home care services to a variety of clients, including elderly people, those with disabilities and people who have suffered serious injuries.

About 80 per cent of its business comes through the Health Service Executive, Mr MacGoey said, with the remainder from a growing cohort of private clients.

A recent increase in demand has led Bluebird to begin a recruitment campaign across its 26 regional offices, which are run by 19 franchisees.

Up to a quarter of the positions available are for its operations in Dublin, but there are also positions available in areas of the State with fewer employment opportunities. For example, Bluebird is seeking 40 staff for its Louth, Cavan and Monaghan office, and a further 40 for Donegal and Leitrim.

It is also hiring in the midlands, southwest and west, and across the east of the country.

About 80 per cent of its staff are homecare assistants, but it also hires registered nurses, especially for managerial roles, as well as specialist roles for complex cases, such as children with special needs.

“It’s very difficult to get staff,” said Mr MacGoey. “But we have begun branching into more complex areas and we need the staff.”

Mr MacGoey bought the franchise in 2007 when Bluebird was a fledgling company in the UK. It opened its first Irish sub-franchisee office in the teeth of the financial meltdown, in November 2009.

The homecare services sector is likely to receive a boost if the Government fulfils a commitment to extend the Fair Deal payment scheme to homecare.

Minister for Health Simon Harris came under pressure to extend the scheme following a RTÉ programme in January by television presenter and fashion designer Brendan Courtney, who documented his family's frustration at being shut out of getting home services for his father.

Mr MacGoey said the sector is also benefitting from a scheme to allow clients claim tax relief on certain homecare services.

Accounting

In a separate announcement on Monday, financial services firm Deloitte is to begin recruiting for 300 graduate roles. The firm is recruiting for positions at its offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast and Galway.

Deloitte says it has graduate roles available in audit and assurance, risk advisory, corporate finance, tax services and consulting services. It is launching a recruitment campaign, "Success Is", which will target so-called millennials on social media and other digital platforms.