September 25, 2022 8.00 am This story is over 18 months old

Travelling 6,000 miles from South Africa to be social workers in Lincolnshire

33 new social workers recruited
Gracious Gomo and Tafadzwa Museka will travel from South Africa to North East Lincolnshire to work for the local council as social workers. | Screenshot: BBC Look North

Two social workers from South Africa will travel 6,000 miles to start their new jobs in North East Lincolnshire at a time when the authority needs more permanent staff in its Children’s Services.

Figures revealed by North East Lincolnshire Council show that there is a national shortage of around 6,500 social workers. Last year, of the 92 social workers in North East Lincolnshire, 54 were employed through an agency.

Thirty three new recruits will be joining the service and Tafadzwa Museka and Gracious Gomo from South Africa are both looking forward to starting their new roles.

Gracious told BBC Look North: “To the children and families I will be working with, when they look back I want them to always remember that there was a social worker by the name Gracious who was impactful in their lives.”

The service given to children and families in North East Lincolnshire has been rated as inadequate by Ofsted and a lack of permanent social workers nationally is meaning that councils have had to rely on more expensive agency staff.

Councillor Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, told BBC Look North: “We’ve got a commissioner in at the moment who is helping us to bring about improvements in children’s services. And certainly recruiting a lot more permanent social workers is one way in which we can help to improve the service because it gives much more continuity and stability in the service.”

The new recruits will arrive in North East Lincolnshire over the next couple of months. Councillor Margaret Cracknell, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at the council, said: “They will have undergone the same professional training as our social workers who qualify here, so that was very much an important factor in the way that we recruited the 33 who will be coming here.”