With the local news centred around the political wranglings and dysfunction at Stormont along with the cost-of-living crisis throughout the UK, it’s fair to say we’re seeing another “cost of” crisis in the form of mental health, homelessness, and addictions. Figures show that from 2020-2021, 36% of single males and 29% of families were the biggest presenters of homelessness, and with the explosion of drug, alcohol, and polydrug use on the streets of Belfast and beyond, 34 deaths have been cited as drug overdoses in the Greater Belfast area alone since the start of 2022.
Speaking with Wes McCullough, a recruitment consultant in our Belfast office – Wes talks about the “cost of” crisis on the streets of Belfast and the demand for recruitment services throughout Northern Ireland.
As a central Belfast resident, Wes believes homelessness and substance abuse is becoming more prevalent every day, especially when working in the city centre. Wes has recruited within the Health & Social Care sector for many years and has an abundance of knowledge in this industry through speaking with clients on a daily basis.
“It’s clear to see there is so much great work being carried out on the streets of Belfast by outreach teams who work tirelessly throughout the small hours of the night. These teams provide emotional, practical, and life-saving support to the most vulnerable people on our streets. Thankfully, Belfast has a lot of charities, each offering fantastic services that help save people’s lives in so many ways. While this is amazing to see up close and personal, the demand for these services leads to a demand for more staff to come on board to tackle these issues head-on.’ This is where Excel Healthcare can help. Wes continued; “To ensure our clients get the best staff in the current climate, all candidates are taken through a detailed phone call to determine suitability. On the initial phone call, there will be questions about aspirations and long-term goals. We will also look at why a candidate wishes to work in this sector etc, and every candidate will get an in-depth overview of the client and what the job entails. This will ensure as close to a 100 percent fit for both the client and candidate alike. Our approach has delivered a proven track record in delivering quality candidates to the clients we work with, and it is a privilege to help these charities with solid recruitment solutions so that they can continue their amazing work.
Furthermore, ID and qualifications are verified, and candidates can avail of CV writing guidance and face-to-face interview prep i.e., mock interviews along with hints and tips. In addition to this, we can also work on your back-office function requirements ranging from HR, Administration, IT, and Financial roles.”
We understand how hard the struggle is for these sectors to recruit – from entry-level roles to more senior posts. Spiralling hiring costs and looking at what’s needed to improve the healthcare system and indeed the crisis on our streets has proven to be immensely challenging.
The demand for quality talent has never been more widespread and many organisations in this industry look for people with passion, drive, and determination to do this type of job as opposed to the usual “6 months experience” and while great progress is being made to help people on our streets, more improvement needs to be made which can only happen by having more hands on deck which is something that Excel Healthcare can help with.
If you are considering applying for work in this sector, please don’t hesitate to contact Wes McCullough at wes@excelrecruitment.com or visit our website to view our list of available jobs. Wes is always open to a private and confidential chat.
