From Scout Leaders To Opera Singers - One Agency's Search For Quality Au Pairs

July 29, 2009 - PRLog -- At its recent presentations in Central & Eastern Europe, British au pair agency 1st Choice Au Pairs again encountered a diverse range of candidates looking for child care positions in the UK.

It is one of the only au pair agencies in the UK who travel overseas to deal directly with 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.

Initially with the EU expansion in 2004, many candidates were attracted to minimum wage jobs in the UK and would come to see the agency's presentations. Many were good candidates with a lot of childcare experience but would often be tempted 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 this 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”.

A typical example is Anca, who studied sociology at university before starting to work for an insurance company. She has also stayed involved in scouting for 10 years and at one time represented Romania as head of their scout contingent at a world scout jamboree. Anca who is 25 feels unfulfilled in her current position and wants to come to the UK to work with children, hoping to continue her studies at Masters level by distance learning. For Anca's profile see http://www.1stchoiceaupairs.co.uk/AncaU.shtml

Families who are interested in candidates can get a real sense of the person by watching the candidate introduction videos on the agency web site. The videos allow families to gain a greater idea of each candidate especially as it shows their English ability. The videos are also ideal for the children as it helps them to adjust and have a good idea of the stranger who will be coming to look after them.

For additional information about our candidates or the services we offer, contact Jay Poole or visit http://www.1stchoiceaupairs.co.uk

About 1st Choice Au Pairs:
1st Choice Au Pairs works directly with both host families and au pair candidates. Staff from the Cambridgeshire office personally travel overseas to meet candidates face to face. Formed in 2004, it was the world’s first recruitment agency to use video as part of its basic service to present and profile its candidates.  More information can be found at the company web site or from the UK office.

Contact:
Jay Poole, Owner
1st Choice Au pairs
0845 4300230
07773 331010
http://www.1stchoiceaupairs.co.uk

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British au pair agency offering unique video introductions of all its candidates. Staff from the cambridgeshire office personally travel to European countries to meet au pairs face to face. Full service to family and au pair before and after placement.