One agency's search for quality au pair candidates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 29, 2009 -- At presentations in Central Europe, British au pair agency 1st Choice Au Pairs encountered a diverse range of candidates looking for ositions in the UK. It is one of the only au pair agencies who travel overseas to meet its au pair candidates as well as interfacing directly with families in the UK.

“Speaking directly with families and au pairs mean we have a good understanding of what each side is looking for in a relationship” explains owner Jay Poole who started the agency in 2004 “it means each sides requirements aren’t lost in communication “.

“Travelling abroad ensures we meet many prospective candidates. Speaking with them face to face allows us to adopt a more stringent screening process and so we filter out quite a few people who we deem unsuitable."

"We always meet interesting people and we were certainly not disappointed on this occasion!” “This time I had a very surreal experience shooting a video of a tenor opera singer performing arias by Puccini. I rejected him as an au pair because he had little experience of children, but since we use video to showcase our own au pair candidates, I realised I could help him out by creating an on-line CV for him to show his singing talents”.

“Numbers attending our events have been lower than usual” said Jay who had travelled to Bucharest for the first event, before two weeks and 7 train journeys later saw the final presentation in Bratislava following an 800 mile journey across Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

With the EU expansion in 2004, candidates were attracted to minimum wage jobs in the UK coming to see the agency's presentations. Many were good candidates with childcare experience but would often be tempted away by other jobs once their English had improved.

With the fall in the value of sterling, coming to work in the UK purely on financial grounds is less attractive. Slovakia which adopted the Euro in January this year has seen salaries rise by almost 50% in relative terms against the pound. “People working in semi-skilled or unskilled positions in their own country are staying put. If they are in a job currently it’s a brave decision to initiate a change and salary differences do not make that risk worthwhile.”

“It’s good anyway to meet people with other motivations for making a change in their lives. There are always young people who studied certain subject at university who then embarked on a different career. These candidates often have a desire to move back to a role they feel better trained for and includes working with children. They have more of a traditional desire to come to the UK as an au pair - cultural reasons, a fresh experience and opportunity to change their lives with a new beginning”.

The agency showcases its candidates by using video introductions of all its candidates. It was the first agency in the world to offer this in 2004 and is still one of the only agencies who can offer it.

More information on 1st Choice Au Pairs can be found on their web pages.