Firm behind Grantown care home plans report good interest in jobs

One of the north of Scotland’s largest independent care home providers is launching a new careers page on its website as it gears up for expansion.

Parklands Group, which operates seven care homes in Highland and Moray, currently employs around 500 people.

A new round of expansion is expected to increase employee numbers significantly.

Ongoing expansion at Muir of Ord and Tain – where six additional rooms are being built at both homes - means that three full time equivalent jobs will be created at each care home.

Meanwhile, a new care home in Grantown, due to open next year, will create 50 new posts, while a planned care facility in Fortrose – currently awaiting approval from The Highland Council – is expected to create a further 50 full time equivalent jobs.

The company has also earmarked Inverness and Elgin as possible sites for future expansion.

The new careers section include details of current vacancies and interviews with existing staff where they talk about their jobs, what’s expected of them and what motivates them to work in the group’s care homes.

It’s hoped the videos will encourage more people to take up a career in the care sector.

Ron Taylor, Managing Director of Parklands Group, said: "We want to challenge the notion that jobs in the care sector are low paid and unrewarding. At Parklands we don’t just offer jobs, we offer careers with long term prospects.

"Parklands is a significant local employer with around 500 staff, many of them working in small, rural communities where employment opportunities are limited.

"Our growth plans will generate many more jobs in these areas.

"We have already had enquiries from people living in Grantown who want to work in our new care home, and from care professionals in Fortrose even before we have secured planning approval for our proposed care home. There is a real demand in the region for quality jobs with long term career prospects."

Parklands pays its care staff a Living Wage of £8.25 an hour, the rate set by the Living Wage Foundation.

"The group’s in-house training centre in Keith provides high quality SVQ training plans tailored to the needs of individual staff, and a structured career development programme ensures that staff can progress through the business, working in a variety of front line and managerial roles. Several current care home managers started in junior roles.

Operations Director Elaine McIntosh joined Parklands almost 20 years ago, starting as an invoice clerk.

Today she has overall responsibility for the running of the group’s care homes and its 500 employees.

She said: "One of our key strengths is that we offer long term career progression and a career structure that allows staff to develop their skills and expand into new, more challenging roles.

"As the business has grown over the past 20 years, so our staff have grown and developed with us.

"Our new careers page should make it easier for people interested in the care sector to take their first steps towards a new career."

For information about careers with Parklands visit www.parklandsgroup.com

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