Exciting Opportunities For Dentists In Australia & New Zealand
We’ve been recruiting UK Dentists for the Australian market now for a little over 10 years and I have lost count of the number of times I have advised Dentists about the changing visa landscape. I genuinely doubt we have placed a dentist in Australia, who didn’t hear me say “go out sooner than later – before they change the visa rules”. First, dentistry was removed from the skills list, meaning that a direct application for Permanent Residency could not be made by dentists based on qualifications and experience alone. Most recently, the 457 sponsored visa was replaced by the new TSS visa meaning dentists could only apply for a visa for 2 years. This can be renewed for a further 2 years and but now has no clear pathway to PR. Regional visas still apply but, with many employers expecting yet more change to the visa rules, it’s no surprise that many are reluctant to start the process with UK qualified dentists only to find the goal posts have moved before the process is complete. We have rarely offered advice and assistance to dentists keen to relocate to New Zealand but, due to an exiting new partnership with one of our clients, we are now in a position to offer highly attractive opportunities to dentists looking to work in either Australia or New Zealand. More announcements will follow. For now, we are really excited by this opportunity to work with a client offering opportunities with modern, well managed practices offering great earnings potential as well as terrific lifestyle benefits. We will be attending the BDIA Dental Showcase in London in early October and our client will be showcasing the opportunities they can offer throughout Australia and New Zealand. They will be on hand throughout the Dental Showcase and able to discuss specific opportunities, the process of relocation as well as the benefits of living and working in both Australia and New Zealand. If you want to discuss the range of opportunities we have to offer to work internationally, simply email info@blueskypeople.co.uk with your CV or why not come and meet our team on Stand F5 at the Dental Showcase. We’ll be pleased to see you there.
BDIA Dental Showcase 2017 – Post Show Update
Following 3 great days at the BDIA Dental Showcase, the Blue Sky People team are busy following up with candidates and clients alike this week after a good number of new enquiries and lots of interesting discussions. We met with clients across the dental sector from independent practice owners to larger group businesses as well as customers across the dental supply chain. You may well have heard but we also had current clients meeting prospective candidates on the stand throughout and both Smile Together and JDRM Dentalcare had successful meetings throughout the 3 day Showcase. Several themes emerged throughout the show (apart from the sore feet among those of us not used to standing for 3 days straight). There are fantastic business opportunities in this rapidly changing industry landscape with some highly adaptable businesses quick to realise those opportunities. There is a significant shortage of high quality staff across clinical dentistry and the dental supply chain alike. There are lots of talented clinicians and commercial staff with dental industry experience actively looking for the opportunity to optimise their talent. During the course of the show, I met with a number of innovative, forward thinking dental businesses (practices and suppliers) all of which have identified unique and attractive opportunities for their own business. Not unsurprisingly we also met with a good number of highly talented clinical and commercially aware candidates who see lots of ongoing recruitment in the market, but who are looking for specific opportunities to enhance their careers and develop their skills. Our job is to put the two sides together – identifying those forward thinking, creative and innovative businesses with bright futures and introduce them to those talented, motivated and enthusiastic individuals who will seize the opportunity for advancement. Thank you to those of you who took the time to come and meet us to discuss your particular projects. We’re excited by the opportunity to work with you. Paul & The Team
2017 Dental Recruitment Update
Having thought that we would ease our way back in to work in 2017, how wrong we were. Substantial demand for locum dentists – particularly for maintaining UDA contract delivery or catch up – has meant the phone was already ringing from the first day back. With the Bupa acquisition of Oasis, prospective sale of Southern Dental and ongoing growth and acquisition strategies for many of the smaller group businesses throughout the UK, 2017 appears to be heading for another busy year within the NHS dentistry jobs market in particular. The skills shortage continues with an ageing professional population (not just in dentistry) growing population base and simply not enough professional healthcare graduates to fulfill demand in the medium term. In other markets a lack of balance between supply and demand rapidly leads to increases in salaries and contract rates as businesses compete for skills. With fixed price NHS contracts under the current UDA system, there are affordability issues as personnel costs increase. That said, locum rates are rapidly on the increase and experienced NHS dentists happy to travel can secure some excellent day rates in some parts of the country. Observing the increased demand for locum and short term cover, we’ve already invested heavily in the latest rapid communications technology and systems to meet that demand as traditional advertising mediums become less effective. Outside of NHS dentistry we continue to see strong demand for experienced and competent clinicians from clients with a solid private business model – generally led by increased patient awareness. With great finance available and an appetite from lenders keen to lend to dentists, we see ongoing demand from dentists keen to take a step in to practice ownership. Through our 4dentists group venture we’re uniquely placed to support entrepreneurial dentists keen to buy a practice with an exciting platform of support services pre and post purchase all launching in 2017. It’s going to be a busy and exiting year. Call Now on 01491845511 Email Now info@blueskypeople.co.uk
Are you struggling recruiting? Where the corporate dental providers are more competitive than ever!
We work with a very diverse range of dental clients across the UK, from single handed private practices in the wilds of Cornwall, to NHS community services in locations like the Shetland Islands. We don’t currently recruit for any of the 5 largest corporates – most have talented in-house teams to manage their recruitment – preferring to work with independently owned and managed dental businesses the length and breadth of the UK. Historically, associate opportunities with independent practices were highly sought after within the profession, particularly those in locations with great family benefits, such as schools and amenities. The interest in private practice remains for those who have invested in their clinical skills, but practices with a degree of NHS income and lots of opportunity for developing a private book – either fee per item, or through development of a membership plan – have generally recruited quite readily in the past. We talk to literally hundreds of dental professionals over the course of a month and interestingly, we’re seeing different questions posed by associates who are active in the job market, mostly due to the effect of corporate dentistry on the market. More often than not (once the financials are out of the way) we’re now being asked whether the practices we’re recruiting for have things like air conditioning, rotary endo, intra-oral cameras, digital X-Ray, natural light in the surgeries and so on. What opportunities there are for mentoring and support for less experienced dentists are also a consideration. Whatever your opinion of corporate dentistry, the modern surroundings, well trained staff and investment in high tech capital equipment for their surgeries is helping them attract and retain talented clinicians in a way that the market hasn’t properly acknowledged. The dental industry is going through a significant modernisation in more ways than one. If your practice isn’t keeping up to speed with technological advancement and investment in staff training and development, you could find yourself struggling to recruit at all in the future. If you need some advice and support in recruiting and retaining talent for your dental practice, contact us now for a confidential conversation on how we can help. Paul Director Blue Sky People
Business as usual post Brexit?
Business as usual post Brexit, not quite. It’s busier than that! Today saw a very significant business acquisition in the IT sector. One of the worlds biggest companies Hewlett Packard, has just sold off a huge chunk of their profitable software business to dynamic British business based in Berkshire – Micro Focus. Interestingly, while this IT sector deal has little to do with the dental market in some respects, it has quite a bit to do with us in other ways. The CEO of Micro Focus started looking at the prospect of a deal with Hewlett Packard in February 2016 and has explained their appetite to acquire an established, well respected business didn’t weaken at all –despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit. What Micro Focus does, they do extremely well. They take established but generally lazy, minimal growth businesses with a very loyal existing customer base. Then they offer those customers, innovative and modern solutions through their already strong relationships. Offering them better solutions. And it is here where there are some similarities with Dentistry. Well run, well managed dental businesses attract a loyal customer following. Treat your customers well, deliver beyond their expectations and you can benefit from a lifelong business relationship. We’re already seeing our dental clients looking to expand their clinical offering, invest in up to date technology and infrastructure and grow their staff, either in numbers or simply investing in improving their skill set. Clearly we all lost a little bit of confidence following the Brexit vote as we saw investments contract, the housing market slow and our summer holidays perhaps get a little more expensive with the drop in value of the pound. But confidence is already rebounding rapidly and that feeds right through the dental market. As a result, we’re busier than ever. Our dental practice clients are recruiting and in doing so are looking for the very best people out there. Similarly our clients in the dental supply chain are looking to attract key talent and strengthen their sales and development teams. Whether you’re looking for a new opportunity with forward thinking, high growth dental practices, or looking for a fresh challenge in training, sales or customer services within dentistry, we’d be delighted to hear from you. And if you’re still not sold and are worried about the long term consequences of Brexit, we’re still recruiting dentists for Australia! Paul Director Blue Sky People