• Significant announcement sees Home Instead increase Irish workforce by 25%.

• Currently caring for almost 7,000 clients across the country, this number will increase its capacity to care for another 2,000 ageing adults.

• Global Workforce Report highlights urgency and necessity of expanding and professionalising the caregiving workforce.

• Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD welcomes 1,000 new jobs and highlights vital role of caregivers.

• Home Instead COO Shane Jennings: “We’re inviting applications from people with an interest in care, to join us in helping older people live independent lives in their own homes and in their own communities.”

The care company, which already has a 4,000-strong caregiver team working across every county in Ireland, is recruiting for 1,000 additional caregivers, who will be hired throughout the country.

Home Instead delivers essential home care to almost 7,000 clients across every county in Ireland, and has been building its caregiving team over the past 12 months, with 1,000 new roles also announced in 2020.

Home Instead’s caregivers deliver a range of non-medical care services to older people. In addition to helping keep older people safe and well, such care services can also facilitate early hospital discharge, freeing up vital capacity, or can help prevent hospitalisations in the first instance.

“Building the Caregiving Workforce Our Aging World Needs[1]”, a new Global Workforce Report commissioned by Home Instead with the Global Coalition on Aging, highlights the urgency and necessity of expanding and professionalising the caregiving workforce around the world.

The increasing demand for caregiving of older people represents a challenge never before experienced, with the global population aged 65 and older set to more than double by 2050.

Welcoming the announcement of 1,000 new jobs, Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD said:

“Supporting older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence, for as long as possible, is a priority for this Government. The Covid-19 pandemic has again highlighted the vital work that caregivers do in our communities.

“I welcome this announcement from Home Instead creating 1,000 new caregiving jobs.

“We know that in the years ahead, Ireland, like so many countries, will face the challenge of an ageing population. Home care can play an increasingly important role in providing care to our oldest and most vulnerable citizens, many of whom would like to continue living in their homes and communities.

“These new 1,000 Home Instead jobs come at a vital time for the country – not only as we look to build our future home care needs, but as we look to rebuild the economy as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Commenting on the announcement, Chief Operating Officer of Home Instead, Shane Jennings said:

“The Global Workforce Report has highlighted the acute —and expanding—shortage of professional care workers around the world, and estimates that across the OECD countries, the number of elder care workers will need to increase by 60% by 2040 to maintain the current ratio of caregivers to older people.

“The number of people over the age of 65 in Ireland is expected to reach 1.4 million by 2040, with even greater growth expected in the population aged 80 and over. This change has the potential for the biggest impact on health services overall.

“As life expectancy increases in Ireland, so too does the need for quality home care – and quality home carers, the new jobs we are creating will help us to build our caregiving workforce of the future, and is also testament to the hard work of our Caregivers and team in our 25 offices around the country.

“We’re inviting applications from people with an interest in care, to join us in helping older people live independent lives in their own homes. The work is local, the jobs are sustainable and there are opportunities available in rural and urban areas around the country.”

“We’re tremendously proud of our caregiving team, and the work that they do to keep older people safe and well. We know that where possible older people want to continue living independent lives in their own homes and in their own communities.

“For the vast majority of older people, ageing at home has better health outcomes, is less expensive than institutional care, and can help prevent unnecessary or premature admission to long-term residential care.”

Home Instead’s reward and remuneration package includes competitive rates of pay with higher rates at weekends, ongoing professional development opportunities, 24-hour support and local benefit schemes to suit local carer needs nationwide.

Home Instead’s caregiving package also includes clear pathways to career progression, with many office staff within the Home Instead Ireland network having started out as a caregiver before progressing and continuing their career in a variety of areas, including in leadership positions, drawing on their experience on the frontline of caregiving on a daily basis.

These jobs are currently being offered nationwide. For more information, click here.