March 14 2007 National Social Care Recruitment Campaign 2007 In early March 2007, the Department of Health will be launching a new campaign to encourage recruitment into social care. This campaign aims to: Raise awareness of and interest in the employment opportunities in the sector Encourage people to consider a career in social care, and Provide routes for people to find out about vacancies in their locality. The campaign includes new television, press and radio advertising. Locally in Somerset, Care Focus is going to respond to the campaign and work at a local level to increase the impact within Somerset.The Department of Health is working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions to ensure that Jobcentre Plus supports the campaign effectively locally. The aim being for Jobcentre Plus and local employers to collaborate and run job shops, recruitment fairs during the campaign. Therefore the Department of Health is recommending that all independent sector employers ensure they maximise the facilities offered by their local JCP and place vacancies with especially during the campaign. In addition to using JCP to advertise relevant positions Care Focus are happy for employers, with their own electronic job pages, to email through a link for inclusion on a new campaign page, on the Care Focus website (www.carefocussomerset.org.uk). This page will be set up with links to JCP and directly to those organisations that choose to send a link forward. In addition to this Care Focus will endeavour to stimulate positive local media interest in the social care sector in Somerset. For help and advice for businesses that are not yet IT ready please contact: Connecting Somerset. They offer impartial advice, supplier contacts and a multitude of tips and advice, on IT, broadband and web development for any business. Call: 0845 130 1595 or go to: www.connectingsomerset.co.uk