BRIDGEND County Borough Council’s recruitment programme focused on recruiting qualified and experienced international social workers, was announced as a winner on May 1, 2025 at the Social Care Wales Accolades ceremony, held at the Holland House Hotel, Cardiff.
The awards celebrate and share notable work in social care, childcare, play, and early years in Wales, recognising the work of groups, teams and organisations. This year 11 projects and seven individuals reached the final round of the awards across six categories. Six winners were presented with their awards on the night, including the successful International Recruitment for Children’s Social Workers programme obtaining the ‘Developing and Inspiring the Workforce’ award.
The winning social work programme aims to achieve the best outcomes for children and families by helping reduce the teams’ reliance on agency workers, improving staff retention, and developing the experience of the workforce. The successful project has so far recruited 13 social workers from across South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA, which has brought stability to the teams.
International children’s social worker, Jerry Letsoalo shared his experience of joining Bridgend County Borough Council social work team and winning the award.
Jerry said: “I qualified as a social worker in May 2013 in South Africa and practiced there until I came over to Wales in June 2023 and joined Bridgend County Borough Council’s Children’s Services as a children’s social worker.
“Personally, winning the accolade award gave me the boost in confidence to continue working with new processes to achieve the best outcomes. It showed me that we are valued as international social workers and our contribution to Bridgend children services is recognised.
“The level of support has made the process of learning and adapting to new ways of working easier. Our Social Care Workforce Development Programme (SCWDP) ensure continued learning is at the core of our professional development, ensuring that we are always provided with the latest research and best practice.
“I have encountered a few challenges throughout my new journey, but with the support of senior managers, team managers and my team, I am glad to say I have found my feet.
“The flexibility that comes with being a social worker in Bridgend County Borough Council, and the work-life balance which promotes the well-being of all employees is a positive.
“I honestly have no regrets with regards coming to Wales to work. It has been a great journey, learning about the Welsh language and history.”
Alongside the winning award, two other members of Bridgend’s Social Services and Wellbeing directorate received commendations as finalists in two other categories.
Ffion Cole, Principal Office was commended in the Inspirational leadership category for her integral part in helping build a consistent and stable workforce, benefitting the children and families in the area, as workers can build lasting relationships with the people they support. Ffion also keeps the voices of children and families at the heart of her team’s practice. Ffion also leads on supporting the recent internationally recruited social workers.
Whilst Casey Baker, Social Care Worker also received commendations for the WeCare Wales award. It was noted that Casey’s creative and person-centred approach to her role alongside her ability to connect with people on a personal level makes her an exceptional social care worker.
Her dedication goes beyond her regular duties, which was evident at the awards when Casey invited Frances Child’s, a lady she supports to accompany her to the awards ceremony. The bond and respect they share was clear for everyone to see, especially when both were awarded commendation certificates on stage.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Jane Gebbie said: “We were extremely proud that three finalists from our local authority were among the 127 social care projects and individuals from across Wales that were recognised in this year’s Social Care Wales Accolades.
“The awards ceremony highlighted the standout dedication of all our colleagues to their practice.
“We are beyond delighted to have won an award for our international recruitment programme, against so many worthy teams and individuals, and to have our team’s hard work recognised among the top social work talent in Wales.
“I wish to thank everyone in our social care teams who were involved in the creation and implementation of this innovative programme, and of course our international social workers who made it possible, your hard work has paid off.
“Congratulations you are all winners, you did yourselves and Bridgend County Borough proud.”
