The healthcare crisis has seen a care home business throw out traditional recruitment methods in favour of a process which could see candidates apply and offered a contract within days.

Home care provider Cera is currently hiring for 90 jobs in Norwich, but is launching the process via an app.

Instead of putting candidates through lengthy CV submission and interview processes it has created a digital application which asses values and behaviors before submitting the candidate for digital vetting.

The results, they say, can see candidates placed within just over a week of even applying for the job.

The total process, which could be as short as 10 days, includes up to four days of training.

A spokesman for the company said: "Within our sector, we battle with archaic processes - candidates have to jump through regulatory hoops before they can start.

"We have stripped our recruitment process back to basics, not requiring a CV to apply, assessing against values and offering automated and remote assessment and training. Our processes are robust, built for quality in line with our values, but also offer a speedy hiring process, quicker than the industry standard."

The roles currently being recruited in Norwich are for a home off Drayton Park Road.

Dr Ben Maruthappu, co-founder and chief executive of Cera, said: “The pandemic has accelerated a marked shift in social care, with more and more older people wanting to receive care in their own homes, creating greater demand and opportunity for care staff throughout the country.

"This trend will continue apace, even when the pandemic is finally behind us. By bringing new talent into the sector, particularly those from industries which have been impacted by the recession and have transferable skills, we can better support older people throughout our communities, protect vital NHS resources and get people back to work in a stable and hugely rewarding career.”

The company operates across England, Scotland and Wales and currently has more than 6,000 staff nationwide.

Between them the team delivers over 30,000 care visits daily to a customer base of more than 12,000 people.

The changing face of placing jobseekers

Shaun Sadler, district operations leader for the DWP in the East Anglia district, said: "We're also seeing changes in the way people are hiring. No longer are we seeing people going through lengthy processes of putting together CVs, aptitude tests and so on.

"Instead we're seeing them having a phone call or workshop and are getting hired after a few conversations - people are coming away with a job on the same day as they applied.

"We're also seeing more flexibility within the workforce. Jobseekers are more comfortable crossing county lines now than they were previously because they feel more comfortable using public transport.

"They're keener on going into a specific career path and they're willing to travel for it if it means doing what they're passionate about."