A campaign has been launched to encourage more men to apply for care worker jobs.

National figures show only 16 per cent of care workers are male.

In Cambridgeshire the shortage is sometimes due to preference and choice of the person in need of care or their family members.

A spokesman for Cambridgehshire County Council said: “In order to overcome these challenges, there needs to be a change in how people perceive care work.

“Changing the culture of our workforce – and the stigma and perception of male carers - can be achieved by highlighting how rewarding a career in care can be, financially, personally and professionally.

“It can also be done by showing clients and their families that, regardless of gender, male care workers provide the same level of service as female workers.

“Recruiting for the care sector has been a challenge for several years.

“A significant contributory factor is the increasingly ageing population, which is growing more rapidly than the workforce. Recent national studies suggest that the shortfall could be as high as 718,000 care workers by 2025.”

It is predicted that the number of people over 85 will double in the next 20 years.

Cambridgeshire was the fastest growing county in England between 2001 and 2011.

In order to overcome the recruitment challenges, some domiciliary care employers have introduced changes to the way they work in order to recruit and retain their staff.

They are also offering better working conditions to improve retention rates.

Anyone interested in becoming a male care worker should contact providers:

• Midas Care Maureen Dean 01223 666899.

• Beaumont Healthcare Carorlyn Riglen 01480 218300.

• Mears Care Kirsty Stoughton 01480 478700.