A COUNCIL is building on a national campaign to boost its social services recruitment.

The Department of Health's campaign to attract more social services staff has already generated more than 14,000 inquiries to a national helpline. Requests for application forms for social work courses have risen by 20 per cent.

In County Durham, the campaign is having a knock-on effect, with universities and colleges reporting a big upturn in the number of students taking up social work courses.

But in the short-term the county's social services are experiencing an immediate recruitment problem, especially in the child care sector.

In an attempt to combat this, Durham County Council is pursuing its own campaign.

Peter Kemp, the council's director of social services, said: "We are not alone in facing a recruitment problem - there are vacancies in social services up and down the country, especially in the child care sector.

"We have to make sure that Durham is seen as an attractive place to work in social care and then ensure that once we have the people in place, the conditions are such that we can keep them here."

The council is looking at a range of incentives, both financial and through improved conditions of service.

It is also implementing a continuous professional development plan providing career progression for all social workers.

For the past two years, the council has paid bursaries to newly qualified students in a bid to attract the best social workers, and it offers unqualified staff within the department the chance to go on paid secondment to local colleges to gain promotion.

To find out more about a career in social work, ring the council on (0191) 383 4184.